Family Reunited
by No1starkidfan
Summary: What if Harry really did see his father that night across the lake? James and Lily return and find out how the world has changed since they died by the hands of Lord Voldemort. Warnings: mentions of child abuse! I know this idea has been used a lot but I really do love the idea of Harry having his family back. [On hiatus for now. Should be back around Christmas]
1. Chapter 1: The Return

**Hi guys, this is my first ever published fanfiction and I'm so excited to go on this adventure with you guys, I know this idea has been used millions of times but I really do love it.**

**Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own Harry Potter I don't, our queen J.K Rowling does!**

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**Family Reunited**

**Chapter 1: The Return –**

James Potter's eyes opened for the first time in 12 years. However, he couldn't see anything, the world was pitch black. He raised his arms and hit a surface inches from his face. He hastily searched around for his wand, grabbed it and shouted "Ascendio!" He shot up 6 feet onto the dew struck grass.

He remembered what happened that fateful Halloween night, how that good for nothing rat had betrayed them and Voldemort had shown up. He remembered as he shouted "Take Harry and run, I'll hold him off", he remembered looking Voldemort right in those cold, unforgiving, red eyes and seeing right into his split soul; he remembered that high pitched piercing laugh as the green light came shooting towards him and then blackness.

His thoughts turned to his wife and child, what happened to them? He whirled round to look at his gravestone; it read:

_Here lies James Potter 27 March, 1960 – 31 October, 1981 and Lily Potter_ _30 January, 1960 – 31 October, 1981, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

Tears streamed down James' face, he couldn't ever imagine living in a world without his Lily Flower. However, Harry's name wasn't there, his little Prongslet must still be alive! Suddenly, a figure with blazing red hair came shooting out of the ground.  
"LILY FLOWER YOU'RE ALIVE!" James exclaimed. He ran to his wife and helped her to her feet.  
"James, how are we here right now? We died and what happened to Harry? James, what happened to our baby?" Lily cried as she fell back down to the ground on her knees and sobbed, tears cascading down her deathly pale face and on to her dirt covered robes.  
"Lils look at me, Harry's alive I'm sure of it, his name isn't on the tombstone. He's probably with Sirius." Lily looked disbelievingly at James and then cast her eyes to the tombstone, she read it so many times it hurt her head, turned to her husband and smiled. "He's alive James." She confirmed.  
"How long have we been gone? Weeks? Months? Or- or James what if we've been gone for years? What if my baby boy's all grown up? We could've missed his first time seeing Diagon Alley, getting his first wand; James we could've missed sending him off to Hogwarts" she pointed out, her green eyes full of sorrow.  
"Don't think about that now Lils, he's alive, that's all we need to know for now, let's go to Hogwarts and find Dumbledore, he'll explain everything" James replied, his face full of serious determination.  
"Okay" Lily agreed "but first let's find some new clothes, something tells me we've been in these for far too long".

James and Lily gazed up at the castle they once called home for seven years and hoped against hope that Dumbledore had the answers they were looking for. However, a familiar howling caught James' attention and had him running for the forbidden forest. "James? Where are you going? We need to see Dumbledore." Lily shouted, running after him.  
"Sirius is in trouble, that was him I know it!" James answered and they both came to a stop in front of the frozen lake, shocked into silence by what they were witnessing. Hundreds of dementors were surrounding three figures, one of which James figured must've been Sirius. James wondered why dementors were after his best friend but knew he had to act fast. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" James cried. A magnificent stag came sprinting out of his wand towards the dementors. They flew away one by one getting as far away from the glowing stag as they could and James' hazel eyes met one of the figure's green ones just as the figure passed out. He knew those eyes, they were Harry's.

James and Lily ran to the other side of the lake once all the dementors had fled and conjured magical stretchers for Sirius, Harry and another teenage girl who they supposed must have been Harry's friend and took them up to the castle where they were met with a bewildered Cornelius Fudge and Professor Dumbledore.  
"Who are you? What is the meaning of this?" spat Fudge, looking utterly confused with the two people who are supposed to be dead carrying 3 unconscious people, one being an alleged mass murderer. Lily turned her head to Professor Dumbledore "I'm not sure how to prove it sir but we are really Lily and James Potter." She begged to her old headmaster who looked absolutely furious that someone would even dare impersonate them.  
"We'll take Veritaserum" said James seriously.  
"No!" came a voice from behind them. It was Severus Snape with an unconscious Ron Weasley on a stretcher.

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**So what did you guys think? Any follows, favourites and reviews would be appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: Revelations

**OMG! Thank you so much for the response to this story! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited, you have no idea how much it means to me that you did that. In spirit of International Harry Potter Day, here's chapter 2!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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Chapter 2: Revelations

Snape gawped at Lily for what felt like centuries. "What kind of sick game is this?" Severus choked, shocked to the core.  
"Severus, please escort the children to the hospital wing immediately and then bring some Veritaserum to my office" Dumbledore urged, finally coming to his senses. "The Minister and I will take Black and the supposed James and Lily up to my office where they will be questioned." Snape nodded and proceeded to the Hospital Wing with Harry, Ron and Hermione in tow, not daring to look at Lily and James again.  
"But-but Dumbledore, listen to reason, Black has to receive the kiss now, we've got him, if he escapes again imagine how it will make the ministry look?" Fudge spluttered.  
"Excuse me? James said dangerously "What exactly did he do?"  
"See Dumbledore! They don't even know how he betrayed them. Imposters!" Fudge cried pointing at James and Lily wildly. The little colour that was in James' face disappeared instantly.  
"Minister please, we'll discuss this in my office and find out the truth when Severus returns." Dumbledore insisted.

The strange group of five made their way up to Dumbledore's office, Sirius floating on his stretcher behind them. Fudge wanted to bind him but James flat out refused and wouldn't budge until Fudge relented. The paintings gasped in their portraits as they caught a glance of James and Lily who they thought they would never see again and some screamed in horror when they caught sight of Sirius Black.  
They could hear some paintings whisper to each other "why is he still alive?" and "shouldn't he be restrained, no wonder the Ministry could never capture him" to which Fudge turned to Dumbledore and yelled  
"See Dumbledore! We're already being judged and by a scrap of paint no less!"  
Dumbledore managed to calm the enraged Minister enough so he didn't wake up the entire castle.

When they arrived at Dumbledore's office, Snape was waiting with a small phial which contained a colourless potion that closely resembled water. However, first Dumbledore cast a few spells on James and Lily, checking for any enchantments they could be using or possible uses of Polyjuice Potion. Nothing happened. A hint of a smile came across the headmaster's face.  
"Who would like to go first?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle returning to his eyes as he took the phial from the potions master.  
"I will" said James flatly. 3 drops were administered to James and a blank look came across his face as the potion started to take effect.  
"What is your full name?" Dumbledore quizzed,  
"James Charlus Potter" James said in a bland voice, Dumbledore smiled for real this time and Fudge shook his head in disbelief.  
"What is your son's name?" Dumbledore continued  
"Harry James Potter" James answered  
"What happened on 31st October 1981?" Dumbledore asked seriously  
"Peter Pettigrew betrayed us, we switched secret keepers without telling anyone and he went straight to Voldemort. Voldemort came into our house, I told Lily to take Harry and run, but I was wandless, there was nothing I could do, that night I failed as a husband and as a father" James answered in the same bland voice although his eyes were shining with unshed tears. Lily was openly crying telling James that he did his best and he didn't fail his family.  
"You don't honestly believe him do you Dumbledore? Peter Pettigrew is dead, there were plenty of witnesses of his death when Black destroyed him along with 12 muggles! No, whoever he is, he is lying!" Fudge ranted furiously shaking his head so viciously that he looked like he was trying to get rid of an insect.  
"As a matter of fact I do Minister, Mr Potter was given Veritaserum and I found no enchantments that would suggest that he was hiding his identity from us, I think we should question Mr Black after Lily has been questioned." Dumbledore stated calmly.  
"WHAT!?" Fudge roared, his face turning so red he could be mistaken for a Weasley. "No Dumbledore, I won't allow it, this man has escaped his fate for far too long, it's time for justice to be served!"  
"You think sucking out an innocent man's soul is justice?" Lily questioned, her face livid and all signs of tears vanished in a second "My husband has just given perfectly good evidence that suggests that Sirius is in fact innocent and you won't even listen to his side of the story! Well Minister, it seems the Ministry hasn't changed at all has it? I bet the poor man didn't even get a trial." Lily seethed and grabbed the phial from Dumbledore angrily and administered herself the potion. Her face turned to the same blank expression as her husband as the potion started to take effect for the second time that day.

"What is your full name?" Dumbledore asked  
"Lily Rose Potter née Evans" Lily answered her voice void of all emotion.  
"What is your son's name?" Dumbledore questioned,  
"Harry James Potter" Lily responded in the same emotionless voice,  
"What happened on the night of 31st October 1981 after James told you to run?" Dumbledore continued, a slight urgency in his voice.  
"I ran with Harry into the nursery. I told him to be safe and strong and that we loved him after I put him in his crib. The door burst open and Voldemort was there, He kept telling me to step aside but I pleaded with him to take me instead, just don't kill my son. He just laughed this high pitched cackle and then the green light came and I died" Lily finished. James took her hand in his comfortingly, the potion had worn off for him.  
"Who was your secret keeper?" Dumbledore asked, the whole room holding their breath.  
"It was Peter Pettigrew and he betrayed us" Lily returned. Snape silently left the room, not baring to hear Lily's voice anymore, it hurt too much.

"Well, I think that settles it then" Dumbledore stated finally, "Sirius Black deserves a trial."


	3. Chapter 3: The Rat Hunt

**I can't believe this story has had over 1,000 views, thank you so much! It's so inspiring to know that people out there actually enjoy reading what I write. Here's chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does**

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**Chapter 3 - The Rat Hunt and What Happened To Our Son?**

"Dumbledore, I must persist that we do not do this, this man is a convicted murderer, these people are obviously not in their right minds, and if they believe their identities to be true then that's what they'll say under the Veritaserum, I bet Black has twisted their minds! That's what he's done!" Fudge declared triumphantly.  
"Cornelius, I have cast every counter curse and any revealing spells I can think of, Lily and James are who they claim to be and Sirius Black may have been framed. The question we need to ask is, where is Peter Pettigrew?" Dumbledore advised, pondering his own question.  
"I think I might be able to help with that." James offered, his face in his hands wondering how everything had gone so wrong so fast. "He's an unregistered animagus, he can turn into a rat, that's probably how he's managed to stay hidden all these years."

"Okay, he may be in the castle, I say we search and Minister you can set up Sirius' trial. Immediately Cornelius" Dumbledore insisted when Fudge opened his mouth, about to argue. "Sirius will stay here until the trial" he added and Fudge just spat "Fine!" his voice full of venom like a petulant child. Once the Minister had left the room through the fire place, Dumbledore turned to James and Lily "Okay we have a rat to find." He turned to the wall of portraits and gave the unusual commanded "Look out for a rat that is missing a toe, if you see it report back to my office immediately." He sent a patronus to Professors Mcgonagall, Filtwick, Snape and Sprout telling them the same thing. However, the couple had questions of their own.

"First I want to know about our son, how long have we been gone? Where has he been living if Sirius has been wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban for Merlin knows how long? Why was he near the lake with Sirius almost getting his soul sucked out of him when he should be under your care?!" James bellowed, Lily also faced Dumbledore "we're waiting" she chided.  
"Harry is 13, you've been dead for 12 years." Dumbledore confessed his sorrowful eyes losing their twinkle. "The night you died, you willingly gave your life for your son, that kind of love leaves a mark; Voldemort couldn't touch Harry so when he tried to kill him the spell rebounded and it destroyed Voldemort's body and Harry was named the boy who lived" Dumbledore then explained through Harry's many adventures at Hogwarts which only took an hour to explain, but to the worried parents, it seemed to take a lifetime. James and Lily were horrified about the dangers their son had been through but very proud of him for the courage he had shown. "Why was he in any danger to begin with? You are supposed to protect him!" Lily exploded, her face as red as her fiery hair.  
"My dear Lily, Voldemort deceived us all, including me and I am truly sorry for not seeing through it." Dumbledore said genuinely.  
"You should have tried harder! My son could have died! Why should I even let him come to Hogwarts any more if this is how he's treated?" Lily screamed accusingly.  
"Where did he live when he wasn't here?" James asked in a low dangerous voice, fearing the answer he was about to hear.  
"He lived with your sister Petunia, Lily" Dumbledore answered eyes avoiding the livid parents.  
"WHAT?!" James and Lily cried together "Petunia hates magic, she made that very clear when she called me a freak all those years ago on the platform, James we need to see him. NOW!" She turned to Dumbledore and gave a stare that would rival even Mrs Weasley's as she pointed her wand straight at his heart.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Snape entered and gave the grave news no one wanted to hear; the heads of houses had searched the castle and the grounds and had found nothing. Peter Pettigrew had escaped.  
"That sneaky little rat" came a gruff voice from the back of the room. Sirius was awake. His eyes fell on James and his dull eyes expanded to the size of saucers. "What is this? How dare you? How dare you impersonate him!"  
"Padfoot, listen to me, it's me, it's Prongs, I know it's hard to believe mate but we're back." James smiled encouragingly at Sirius, trying unsuccessfully to get him to believe him.  
"Transform, if you're really him then transform" Sirius snarled in a low, disbelieving voice. James chuckled, despite the situation.  
"In here Pads, really?" James laughed. Sirius didn't laugh back and only glared harder at James, not relenting until James transformed into Prongs; so he did. Lily had everyone stand back and then in the same place James once was, there was a magnificent stag. Sirius' face broke out into a wide grin; he transformed into Padfoot and jumped onto Prongs, they rolled around on the floor together as they used to do, knocking over several of Dumbledore's possessions as they did so, much to the dismay of the many portraits on the wall but Dumbledore didn't seem to mind. They changed back and embraced, Sirius sobbing into James' shoulder "How?" Sirius choked out, he never took his eyes off of James, like he was scared he was going to disappear again.  
"We have no idea Padfoot, but it's me and you're going to be free soon, you're getting a trial!" James told Sirius with an elated voice. Sirius barked a laugh for the first time in 12 years and looked a lot younger than his imprisonment had caused him to look.

Without warning a figure came dashing into the room yelling "SIRIUS IS INNOCENT!" Harry came to an immediate halt when he caught sight of the two men in the middle of the room, James and Harry's eyes met briefly, green to hazel for the second time that evening. Harry's eyes darted to Lily's and frantically started flicking between the two parents. The room fell into silence.  
"Mum? Dad?" Harry whispered faintly as his jaw dropped to the floor with the rest of his body.  
"That could have gone better" James and Sirius commented simultaneously.


	4. Chapter 4: Harry

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, followed and favourite. The moment you've all been waiting for: Harry! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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Chapter 4 – Harry

"Harry!" Lily cried. She, James and Sirius ran over to Harry, two of the three seeing him clearly for the first time in 12 years. "Oh James, he looks so much like you." She gushed to her husband, while pulling Harry's unconscious form onto her lap, stroking his hair lovingly and kissing the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. She then abruptly turned to Sirius, "why exactly was he with you on the lake anyway? And Sirius Black be very, very careful how you answer because if I find out you put my baby in danger, there will be trouble!" she demanded. Sirius' face blanched,  
"well, he wasn't in any danger per se, I hurt his best friend, but it was an accident! He was holding Peter! Then Moony forgot to take his potion and transformed so I turned into Padfoot to try and protect the kids and then the dementors came and it all got out of hand" Sirius reasoned with her, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

Harry stirred a little in her arms and Lily decided this wasn't the time to place blame for something that she couldn't change. "I'm not finished with you, or you Dumbledore; but I think we should get Harry back to bed before he wakes up so we can explain what's happened properly instead of giving the poor boy a heart attack." James nodded and took Harry out of Lily's arms into his own and he, Lily and Sirius left the room to take Harry back to the hospital wing.

Both Ron and Hermione were asleep when they reached the hospital wing. James lay Harry down on one of the beds and tucked him in. All three of them stared at him lovingly. "He looks so peaceful." Lily whispered softly to no one in particular. Sirius checked the clock in the hospital wing, it was 4:00 AM.  
"I wonder how Moony's doing. He's been out in the forest all alone, the sun will be up soon, we better go look for him and bring him back here, he won't be in the best shape." Sirius commented to James worriedly.  
"I'll go, you stay here. If you go then Fudge will kick off saying you're trying to escape or something." James replied, not taking his eyes off his sleeping son.  
"Won't you think he'll be a tiny bit shocked to see his best friend who is supposed to be dead?" Sirius retorts.  
"Fine, we'll get Dumbledore to get someone to go and find him but you're staying here. You can't sacrifice this chance of freedom Padfoot, I won't let you. It's my fault you were imprisoned in the first place, if I'd only told Dumbledore that we changed secret keepers." James panted, finally getting out the feelings of guilt he'd been holding in since he found out about Sirius' imprisonment.  
"What are you talking about? If it was anyone's fault it was mine, it was my idea in the first place to switch your secret keeper, I killed both of you, I'm sorry" Sirius apologised shamefully, getting out the apology he had wanted to say for 12 years.  
"Let's just agree to disagree." James said smiling sadly. Sirius looked up at his best friend and nodded.  
"I'll go tell Dumbledore to send someone out for Moony." Sirius said, standing up, sensing the parents wanted sometime alone with their long lost child.  
"Okay, just don't get seen for Merlin's sake, you'll give someone a heart attack" James replied. Sirius just rolled his eyes and left the room.

Lily took Harry's hand in hers and started softly singing a muggle song from her childhood which she used to sing to Harry when he was a baby. **(AN: I know technically "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan came out in 1999 and this is 1993 but it's just so perfect I couldn't not put it in.) **

_Come stop your crying_

_It will be alright_

_Just take my hand_

_Hold it tight_

_I will protect you_

_From all around you_

_I will be here_

_Don't you cry_

_For one so small,_

_You seem so strong_

_My arms will hold you,_

_Keep you safe and warm_

_This bond between us_

_Can't be broken_

_I will be here_

_Don't you cry_

_'Cause you'll be in my heart_

_Yes, you'll be in my heart_

_From this day on_

_Now and forever more_

_You'll be in my heart_

_No matter what they say_

_You'll be here in my heart, always_

As Lily finished singing, Harry stirred again slightly and then slowly opened his eyes.  
"I remember" he whispered. "I remember you used to sing that to me when I was younger" He sat up very quickly and hugged his mother for the first time in a long time "I missed you" he croaked, his voice catching in his throat. James came forward and hugged his wife and son and said  
"We missed you too Prongslet, but we're back now and we're never leaving you again, we promise."  
Harry broke the hug and stared at his father,  
"It was you who cast the patronus on the lake that made the dementors go away, you saved us." Harry declared, in awe of his father.  
"Just in time as well, the dementors were going to kill all of you, but enough about that, tell us about you" James encouraged and Lily nodded fervently wanting to know as much about her son as possible.  
"Well I'm in Gryffindor, I love Quidditch, I play as Seeker on the team and have done since my first year. My best friends are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, I met Ron on the train and we were friends instantly but we didn't like Hermione much at first, but then we…" he stopped abruptly wondering whether or not to tell his parents about the troll incident but then knew that they would find out about everything so he may as well start with the small stuff and work his way up. However, his parents only smiled sadly, Lily urged her son to continue.  
"It's okay sweetheart, Dumbledore told us everything about all the dangerous stuff. We're very proud of you but please sweetie, be more careful and stay out of trouble. I couldn't bare it if I got a letter from the school saying something else like this had happened again." Harry didn't know what to say, no one had ever told him they were proud of him before, much less a parental figure; so he went with "I don't find trouble, trouble finds me." James laughed and said to Lily  
"He's the son of a marauder Lils, what do you expect?" they all laughed at that until the mention of the marauders brought Harry back to why he ran frantically to Dumbledore's office in the first place.  
"Is Sirius okay? I saw him with you so they haven't killed him yet but does the Minister know he's innocent?" Harry rambled. James put a hand on his son's shoulder and replied  
"Hey Harry take a breath, he's absolutely fine, the Ministry is giving him a trial"  
"Really?" Harry grinned, absolutely relieved he wasn't going to lose his godfather just as he'd found him.  
"Really" Sirius said as he strode back into the room. "Dumbledore told me the trial's tomorrow." He grinned from ear to ear. He had found some real clothes instead of his Azkaban rags. He ran up to Harry's bed and hugged him tight, just glad to be back with those he considered his family again.

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**What did you guys think? Reviews are appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Marauders Reunion

**Hi guys I can't tell you how grateful I am for all the followers and favourites and all the reviews! Thank you so much! **

**Here's Chapter 5!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**C****hapter 5 – Marauder's reunion**

The doors of the hospital wing opened as Madam Pomfrey carried an unconscious Remus Lupin, covered in new bruises and slashes that littered his already battered body. James and Sirius jumped up to help the Matron; however, she almost dropped him when she caught sight of the two men in front of her. Fortunately, Dumbledore walked into the room "Poppy, I know this is hard to believe but Sirius has my full trust and I know him to be innocent of all crimes he's been accused of. Also, it's my pleasure to tell you James and Lily Potter are back from the dead." Dumbledore announced with a smile. Madam Pomfrey looked startled. Nonetheless, she had a patient to deal with and needed help in doing so.  
"Sirius I need two phials of bruise balm now and hurry!" she commanded. Sirius ran towards the store of many phials of medical potions and balms of all different shapes, sizes and colours, frantically looking for one labelled 'bruise balm'. "James take him to one of the beds, I need to get some bandages, these cuts will be very hard to heal magically." As soon as James was holding Remus securely, Madam Pomfrey hurried to get the much needed bandages. James half dragged, half carried Remus over to one of the beds and made sure he was comfortable. Sirius came back with the bruise balm when Madam Pomfrey came back with the bandages. She observed the gashes on his chest "these aren't from a werewolf, how did he get these?" she questioned as she started relentlessly trying to heal the many wounds covering Remus like a blanket. Sirius looked down ashamed, knowing he badly hurt one of his best friends.

It took hours to fully heal Remus. In this time, Ron and Hermione had awoken and Harry had told them the amazing news. At first Hermione was sceptical but at seeing his parents she couldn't deny it and both of them had congratulated him and talked to Lily about themselves and about their time at Hogwarts. Meanwhile James and Sirius sat with their best friend, waiting for him to wake up. Finally at around 8:00 pm his eyes slowly started to flutter open. James took a couple of steps back so as not to startle Remus.  
"Hey Moony, how you feeling?" Sirius asked.  
"Like I've just hit a brick wall" Remus groaned. "How are you here right now? What happened?"  
"A lot, I'm getting a trial for one and something happened." Sirius explained. Remus looked very confused and James chose that moment to step forward out of the shadows.  
"Hey Moony, you look like hell, no offence" James smiled. Remus just stared with his mouth open. "You're going to start catching flies in a second mate" All three men laughed in the hospital wing like they used to all those years ago, like when James used to have one of his Quidditch injuries or when Remus was recovering from a full moon or one of their more elaborate pranks had gone wrong.  
"Out of all the things that happened last night, this is the most surprising." Remus chuckled. James sat on the end of the bed and the two friends embraced. "How did this even happen?" Remus questioned.  
"Sometimes in life Remus, strange, crazy things happen, they're called miracles. I'm here and I get to be with my son and see my best friends again with my wife right by my side. I say this is the closest to a miracle any of us are going to get." All three of them had tears in their eyes as they just enjoyed being in each other's company for the first time in 12 years.  
"I missed you guys" Remus whispered.  
"We missed you too Moony" James and Sirius said.

The next day Sirius stood outside the door of the court room with his hair cut just above his shoulders like he used to have it, courtesy of Lily, feeling very nervous, hoping that this would be his first day of freedom not the day he had to go back to the dreaded island with those horrible, depressing creatures. He hoped that by tonight he would be back with those he considered family and not reliving his worst memories again and again for the rest of his life. He knew that the evidence was stacked in his favour, but he also knew the minister would rather die than admit that he was wrong and couldn't help but feel that he would be failed by the system once again. However, he had one person on his side this time that he didn't have last time: Dumbledore, if anyone can convince Fudge to change his mind he can.

Sirius' name was called, he slowly stood up and felt that cold feeling in his chest he swore to himself he would never feel again and knew the dementors were the ones to escort him into the court room. He stared at the black mangled robes and their hooded faces, sensing they wanted to administer the punishment he was supposed to have but were ordered not to. Sirius followed them into the room as a convict and hopefully leaving as a free man. Sirius looked around the dark foreboding room with high ceilings with fear. He could hear his feet striding across the stone floor quickly, in time with his beating heart which he felt might leave his chest any second.

He sat down in the hard wooden chair which had chains around the arms. Sirius reluctantly took a seat and the chains glowed a bright gold and bound him instantly. He glared at Fudge who was sat on the high benches, joined by 50 members of the Wizengamot wearing plum coloured robes including Amelia Bones who was sat beside the Minister and Albus Dumbledore. On the high bench opposite to the Wizengamot was James, Lily and Remus who were all also glaring daggers at Fudge. Fudge cleared his throat loudly.  
"On this day, we hold the trial of Sirius Orion Black, who 12 years ago on the 31st October 1981, allegedly betrayed Lily and James Potter to Voldemort and then after was tracked down by his friend Peter Pettigrew. Black destroyed him along with 12 other muggles. Not only committing murder but breaking the Statute of Secrecy. How do you plead to these terms?" Fudge stared at Sirius as if daring him to plead not guilty; so he did.  
"Not guilty" Sirius said loud and clearly. The whole Wizengamot gasped and Fudge chuckled to himself.  
"Do you have any evidence to support this statement?" Fudge questioned smirking. To which Dumbledore stood up, starting to make Sirius' case,  
"We have James and Lily Potter who both have admitted that they in fact changed their secret keeper to Peter Pettigrew without telling anyone. We also have Remus Lupin who saw Peter Pettigrew alive only two days ago. All three witnesses also have brought to light that Peter Pettigrew was an unregistered animagus so that's how he possibly could have faked his death. All the witnesses and the accused have given their consent to give their memories willingly to be examined and be administered Veritaserum if necessary." The room was abuzz with whispers, everyone contemplating over the news that James and Lily Potter were alive and Peter Pettigrew may in fact be the murderer. Madam Bones was the first one to speak  
"Can we please see the memories of the witnesses and the accused?" she asked. Dumbledore provided her with the memories which she and the Wizengamot examined in the pensieve. The memories contained Wormtail turning into a rat, and memories of just a few nights ago when Scabbers was found to actually be Peter Pettigrew. What shocked everyone to the core was Sirius' memory of what happened on Halloween night, of how he had actually tracked down Peter and how Peter had chopped off his own finger, transfigured himself into a rat and blew up the street. The whole room was silent. Everyone was pale and Fudge looked a little more than slightly worried.  
"I think we have enough evidence to make a verdict" Madam Bones stated.  
"I ask the Jury if you believe that Sirius Orion Black is in fact innocent and should be cleared of all charges against him?" The majority of the Wizengamot raised their hands in unison, only a few refusing too, including the Minister. Sirius looked on at the scene and grinned ear to ear. Fudge reluctantly declared "Cleared of all charges."

At that the chains glowed bright gold once more as they fell away from his hands. He stood up and, as he had hoped, he left the courtroom as a free man. James and Remus were waiting for him outside and tackled him in a hug. When they finally broke apart Remus took something out of his pocket. James and Sirius looked at him confused.  
"What's that?" James asked.  
"You really don't recognise it?" Remus retorted. James and Sirius took a closer look and gasped, they couldn't believe their eyes.  
"I remember you mentioning it now, how did you get it Remus?" Sirius asked.  
"It was like fate. Harry had it, I have no idea how he found out how to use it, but he did" Remus smiled. All three of them took out their wands simultaneously and pointed it at the old, faded parchment and whispered the words they thought they'd never utter again.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"

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**I'm thinking of doing 3rd and 4th year in this story and do a sequel with each year all the way up to Deathly Hallows. I've planned out everything until chapter 9; however, I have the summer between 3rd and 4th year where I don't know what to do besides the Quidditch world cup and Harry's birthday. So, if there's anything you want to see, comment and I'll see what I can do. **

**Reviews are appreciated! **


	6. Chapter 6: To Have a Home

**Hi guys, thank you for all the support you've shown for this story, I can't tell you how grateful I am. In answer to the question about pairings I think I'm sticking to canon pairings, sorry to anyone if this disappoints you. **

**Trigger Warnings: There's a couple of mentions of abuse in this chapter so I thought I'd just put this here just to be safe.**

**Here's chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does**

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**Chapter 6 – To Have a Home**

To say Harry Potter's life had changed in the last few weeks would be a major understatement. He had his parents back and his godfather, a real family that cared about his well-being and happiness. Today's the leaving feast and then he's leaving Hogwarts for the summer, only this time he's not dreading leaving because he doesn't have to return to the Dursley's. He doesn't have to endure one of Uncle Vernon's beatings again, he doesn't have to be starved because he made a mistake as simple as burning the toast in the morning, he won't be a freak anymore.

_**He's going home.**_

He finished packing his trunk until there was one last thing left on his bed: his photo album Hagrid had gave him in his first year. He opened it and stared at his parent's faces, thinking about how he didn't have to stare at a photo to see his parents now because he had the real thing, he smiled to himself and put the photo album in his trunk. Ron walked into the dormitory, his leg now fully healed and asked  
"Hey mate, everyone's going down to the feast, are you coming?" Harry nodded and walked down the grand staircase with Ron and Hermione (skipping the trick steps as they went) to the feast but was stopped by Remus Lupin.  
"Harry, can I have a word?" Remus motioned to an unused classroom. Harry followed him and Remus closed the door and turned to look at Harry with a sad look on his face. "Harry, after what happened last week someone has let slip that I'm a werewolf…" Remus started, however Harry angrily interrupted  
"By someone you mean Snape right?"  
"Yes and anyway I can't stay on as the DADA teacher, soon the letters will start coming in and I thought I may as well save Dumbledore a job." Remus finished sadly.  
"But that's so unfair, Remus, you're the best teacher we've ever had, you taught me more in one year than Quirrell and Lockhart could have ever taught me in seven and I bet at least half the school agrees with me!" Harry said fiercely, determined not to let Remus leave that easily.  
"Thank you Harry, but I can't stay and we'll be seeing each other again, I'm coming for dinner tonight after all" Remus smiled. Harry grinned at the thought of actually having a meal at home with his family. "Since I won't be your professor anymore, you can have this back, frankly your dad and Sirius would kill me if I didn't." Remus pulled the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and handed it to Harry.

Later that day, Harry, Ron and Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express, glad the dementors were no longer guarding the castle. The shining scarlet steam train set off across the Scottish countryside, leaving the grand, towering castle beside the shimmering lake behind it. On the way back to Kings Cross Ron and Hermione were discussing who the next DADA teacher will be and Buckbeak's miraculous escape from execution.  
"I can't believe Buckbeak escaped, I wonder how he managed it?" Ron wondered aloud.  
"Dumbledore probably thought of something, he wouldn't stand for an innocent creature being murdered." Hermione offered.  
"Yeah, probably" Ron agreed. "Hopefully, next year we'll have a normal teacher that isn't harbouring You Know Who on the back of his head, a fraud or a werewolf." Ron said.  
"No one will be as good as Professor Lupin, he taught us so much. Werewolves shouldn't be discriminated against! They are people who suffer with a terrible condition that most of them didn't even want in the first place." Hermione ranted, outraged by someone being run out of a job just because of something that they can't even control.  
Harry was staring out the window, watching the many fields and trees of the countryside pass by, wondering where in the world Peter Pettigrew was right now and whether Professor Trelawney's prophecy will come true and Peter finds Voldemort and what that would mean. He knew that whatever happened he had his parents, Remus, Sirius and his friends but in all seriousness; he was scared.

The compartment door opened and there stood Draco Malfoy with Crabbe and Goyle.  
"Hey Potter, heard your dogfather was found innocent. I can't believe people actually thought a blood traitor like him was the Dark Lord's right hand man. He associates with animals like your mudblood mother!" Draco sneered. His two cronies behind him cackled a humourless laugh as Harry and Ron both furiously got to their feet.  
"Stupefy!" Harry and Ron cried simultaneously. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle all flew backwards into the adjacent compartment, crumpled on the floor. Harry slammed the compartment door shut. For the rest of the journey, Harry, Ron and Hermione were left in peace. Harry and Ron played wizard chess and exploding snap while Hermione read one of her many books.

As the trio passed through the barrier back into the muggle world, Harry spotted his parents and Sirius immediately. They were talking animatedly with both the Weasleys and the Grangers. Lily turned around, smiled at her son and opened her arms. Harry shamelessly ran over to his mother. Lily squeezed her son tight, refusing to let go. Everyone was staring at the family in the middle of the station, awed by the fact that James and Lily Potter was actually alive even though it had been in the Daily Prophet every day for the last week along with Sirius' release. Once Lily had finally detached herself from her son she said  
"Are you ready to go home sweetheart?"  
"I'm more than ready." Harry answered eagerly. Mrs Weasley came over to him and hugged both Harry and Lily with tears in her eyes  
"I'm so happy for you Harry" she whispered as she hugged him.  
"Thanks Mrs Weasley" He whispered back. He turned to Ron and Hermione "I'll see you two in a few weeks" he grinned as he hugged his two best friends. They were coming to see his new home. James and Sirius grabbed Hedwig and his trunk off of the train. After his trunk and Hedwig was securely on a trolley, Sirius grabbed another cage and walked over to Ron.  
"Since it's my fault you don't have a pet anymore, I want you to have this" Sirius gave Ron the cage which contained a small, minute owl that hooted happily at the sight of him. Ron grinned and said  
"Thanks Sirius, although, it's not anyone pretending to be an owl right?" Sirius barked a laugh and shook his head. James smiled at hearing his friend laugh again and said  
"Come on Padfoot, I want to show Harry Potter Manor!" the twins who were just getting off of the train after saying goodbye to their friend Lee Jordan stopped, their eyes widened.  
"Padfoot?" They both asked together. They looked at each other and then back at James and Sirius "As in Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?"  
"Yes, how do you know about that?" Sirius interrogated suspiciously but Fred and George had already turned on Harry.  
"How could you not tell us?" they said incredulously; however, they didn't give him the time to answer and turn back to Sirius and James.  
"We owe you so much" said Fred genuinely  
"We wouldn't have found half the secret passages for our pranks without you." added George. Sirius and James laughed as the two families left the station.

Harry side along apparated with James to Potter Manor. Once the nausea from apparating for the first time had worn off, Harry looked up at the Manor and was shocked into silence. It was the biggest, most beautiful building Harry had ever seen (besides Hogwarts of course). It had three floors. On the first was the foyer leading into the family room, kitchen, dining room, James' study, two bathrooms, an inside pool and the house elf chambers. The second floor included a library which put Hogwarts to shame, a training room where Charlus Potter once trained his son to be an auror and several bedrooms including Harry's new room which was the size of the Gryffindor common room. The third floor was entirely the master bedroom with ensuite bathroom. It had acres upon acres of luscious land including its own full size Quidditich pitch that Harry couldn't wait to try out with his Firebolt which he had recently found out was actually from Sirius, which Hermione was very happy to hear about since that meant she was right about who had sent it.

He followed his parents and Sirius through the gold metal main gates that almost seemed to hum with magic and up the cobbled drive, through the giant double doors that held the family crest into the foyer. Harry gasped in awe. The foyer was painted red and gold with towering ceilings. It had two elegant staircases coming down from each side of the room with tiny lion sculptures as the end of the banister. In the centre was a massive chandelier lighting up the whole room. Despite the grandness of the whole room it was still very welcoming but what caught Harry's eye was the tapestry on the far wall. He walked up to it and stared, drinking the contents in. It was his family tree, all his ancestors were smiling back at him with parents and grandparents and then his eyes fell on himself. It was strange to think about his family history when up until a week ago he was the only one of his family still alive. His father came up behind him and gently put his hand on his shoulder, not noticing Harry flinch slightly  
"Do you want to see your room Prongslet?" James asked, looking slightly worried. Harry nodded fervently, not quite believing that he was actually going to live here. He started to once again follow his parents up the stairs, stopping now and again to look at a certain portrait of an ancestor that talked to him. Lily urged him to close his eyes as James opened the door. She helped him inside and Harry eagerly opened his eyes. Unshed tears threatened to spill over as he looked around the grand bedroom painted Gryffindor colours with snitches flying round the wallpaper. He had his own ensuite bathroom and walk in wardrobe filled with new clothes so he didn't have to wear his stupid Dursley hand –me-downs anymore. He walked over to his desk and found it filled with photographs of Lily, James and Harry when he was younger and Harry, Ron and Hermione at Hogwarts. He ran over to his parents and hugged them both, letting the tears fall free; he croaked  
"Thank you" James smiled at him warmly and said sincerely

"Welcome home Harry."

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**What did you guys think? **


	7. Chapter 7: Demons of the Past

**Trigger Warnings: mentions of child abuse**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**Chapter 7 – Demons of the Past**

Later that night, Lily awoken for what seemed to be no apparent reason. She looked beside her and James was there sleeping soundly, but she still felt a strange feeling in her chest, like something was wrong. She stood up quietly as to not wake her husband and crept into the hall and that was when she heard what woke her up: Harry's screams from the floor below.  
"UNCLE VERNON NO! STOP IT PLEASE! I'LL BE GOOD I SWEAR! PLEASE!" Lily scrambled down the stairs, cursing the whole Potter family for having such a gigantic house and threw open Harry's door to see him writhing around helplessly on the floor, trapped in his blankets, having fallen off of his bed. Sweat was oozing from his forehead, his whole body violently convulsed as he kept crying out. "NO UNCLE VERNON STOP! PLEASE STOP! I'M SORRY! I'LL BE GOOD I PROMISE, JUST PLEASE STOP!" Tears were streaming down Harry's face as he begged his invisible Uncle for mercy. Lily ran over to him and pulled him into her arms and cradled him like she used to. James teared into the room, wondering what in the world was happening to his little Prongslet. Lily was whispering sweet nothings in Harry's ear, trying to get him to stop crying.  
"Harry, sweetheart, it's okay. Mummy's here, she won't let anyone hurt you. Come on sweetie, wake up for mummy please." She whispered then started getting louder until she was almost shouting, begging for her son to wake up. James ran forward to his wife and son.  
"Come on Prongslet, come on mate, wake up, it's going to be okay, we're not going to let anyone hurt you, come on just wake up." James urged.

Both parents were horrified at the sight before them and at the words their precious son was yelling, they knew that Harry must have suffered greatly at the hands of his aunt and uncle and wished they could turn back time so he never had to endure what he did. Lily was absolutely furious at her sister, she knew that he would have been badly treated but not so far as this, she knew that when she got to Privet Drive she would not be held responsible for her actions. She kept on rocking Harry gently back and forth in her arms comfortingly while James went into the ensuite bathroom for a damp cloth to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. Harry's eyes suddenly shot open as he screamed and threw up violently. Lily ran her fingers through his sweat covered hair as James waved his wand to clear the vomit away. Harry backed away quickly from his parents, not knowing where he was and just desperately wanted to feel safe. His eyes were wide with fear and he couldn't make out where he was due to his glasses being on the end table. James realised this and grabbed them from the end table and tried to coax Harry towards him like a spooked animal.  
"Hey Prongslet, it's okay, here, put your glasses on." He passed Harry his glasses and Harry put them on with shaking hands, finally realising where he was and hung his head with extreme embarrassment.  
"I-I'm sorry I woke you up, you can go back to bed, I-I'm fine" Harry stuttered, hoping against hope he didn't give away what the dream was about, giving away a secret he'd managed to keep since he arrived at Hogwarts. James and Lily gave each other worried looks, knowing they had to handle this delicately if they were going to get Harry to open up and admit the one thing he was too scared to. James crawled over to his son and said in a confident voice  
"Prongslet, look at me." Harry raised his wide, distressed eyes to look at his father "We're not going anywhere until we know you're actually okay which is obviously not the case." Harry curled in on himself, looking away from his parents, not wanting to give away his dark secret. What if they hated him for being so weak and just sent him back to the Dursleys anyway? He had three encounters with Lord Voldemort and survived all of them almost unscathed and yet he was a wreck when it came to his muggle uncle. Lily came forward, wanting nothing more than to grab Harry and hide him from the world so she never had to see the heart-breaking scene that was forming in front of her again.

"Sweetheart, will it be easier for you if we asked you yes or no questions about your nightmare?" she asked. Harry nodded weakly, still curled up in the foetal position. "Was the dream about your uncle?" Harry nodded. "Was he hurting you?" A muffled sob came from the Harry shaped ball as he nodded again. "Oh baby boy, I'm so sorry!" Lily exclaimed as she couldn't hold back the urge anymore and seized Harry, hugging him tight. Harry jumped out of his skin and screamed, not expecting the physical contact. Lily shushed him quietly and cooed sweetly into his ear "Shh, honey it's okay, no one's going to touch you again, I promise. Take deep breaths for me sweetie, in and out, that's it." She tried to get Harry to breathe in time with her and eventually he calmed down and his terror-stricken sobs turned into sniffles. James was silently shaking with fury. How could someone treat his beloved son like this? Much less his own relatives, even if they weren't on the best terms. He knew he had to keep control of his temper for his son, he didn't want to scare him anymore than he already was but knew that soon the time would come that the Dursleys would pay for what they did.

Lily helped Harry stand up, his legs wobbling from the lack of energy his body had left. She guided him over to his bed and tucked him in, kissing his forehead lightly. "It's going to be okay sweetie, we'll talk more in the morning, go back to sleep." She said softly, still holding his shaking hands.  
"Can-can you stay?" Harry replied, holding his head in shame, not wanting to sound like a child but desperately seeking comfort only his parents could give.  
"Of course we will Prongslet" James answered, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Lily. Lily sang her lullaby gently, as Harry's eyes slowly fluttered closed and fell back into a peaceful sleep.

As soon as Harry was safely asleep and both parents had made it back to their own room, they turned to each other and shared livid expressions. "How dare that fat walrus touch our son! Just wait till I see him, he'll wish he'd never been born." James raged, pounding his fist into the wall with a cry. However, Lily was very still, not hearing her husband but her eye was twitching and her cheeks were as red as her hair.  
"Look after Harry. I'll be back soon." She said with gritted teeth. James turned to her with a disbelieving expression, but seeing her face knew arguing wouldn't be a good idea. Lily left the silent house and once she was outside the wards, she disapparated.

She landed in front of Number 4 Privet Drive and stomped up to the front door and cried "BOMBARDA!" The door burst off of its hinges with a deafening crash and Lily stormed into the house, not caring what time it was, only that justice be served for her baby. Vernon appeared at the top of the stairs, his gigantic pyjamas not gigantic enough to cover his even bigger stomach, his face was a worrying shade of purple, but even his thundering expression couldn't rival that of the revenge-bent mother standing in the doorway. "WHERE. IS. MY. SISTER?!" She boomed, Vernon started to tremble where he stood but soon found his voice again, although he looked a little unsure of himself  
"EXCUSE ME WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN MY HOUSE?! WE DON'T ALLOW FREAKS HERE!" That did it for Lily, she raised her wand and Vernon flinched, preparing to be turned into something unnatural. However, no spell ever came. Lily had a better idea and instead punched Vernon square in the face. There was loud crack as Vernon's nose broke and heavy spurts of blood came pouring out of Vernon's pig like nose. Lily stormed past the man and up the stairs searching for her sister.

She found her in her bedroom hiding under the bed like a scared child hiding from a monster. When Lily entered the room she slowly crawled out from under the bed her horror-stricken face now one of shock.  
"L-Lily?" she said incredulously.  
"Tuney." Lily confirmed with a face like thunder. She struck. "HOW COULD YOU TREAT MY SON LIKE THAT? If the roles would've been reversed then I would've treated Dudley like my own, but you let your WHALE of a husband ABUSE HIM!" Angry tears were threatening to spill over Lily's blazing green eyes but she held them back as she raised he wand at her sister's heart. Petunia's face was showing a roller coaster of emotions: confusion, fear, anger and she finally pursed her lips and spat petulantly  
"The brat deserved it, he was a burden since the day he darkened our doorstep. He's a freak just like you are." The whole house started to shake as Lily's temper rose further and further. She slowly stepped towards Petunia, her wand still raised, she breathed venomously  
"Harry will no longer be staying with you, and he will never 'darken your doorstep' again. However, mark my words: You. Will. Pay. Goodbye Tuney."

Lily walked right by Petunia, down the stairs, stepped over the bumbling Vernon who was cradling his nose and out of her sister's life forever.

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**No one messes with Lily Potter's family XD what did you guys think? **

**Reviews are appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8: Bonding and Decisions

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does**

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**Chapter 8 – Bonding and Decisions**

Lily burst back through the door of her bedroom still reeling from the information she'd processed in the last few hours to find that James wasn't there. Where did he go? She ran down to Harry's room and saw the light on and breathed a sigh of relief. She peeked her head in and smiled at the sight. Harry was soundly asleep and cuddled up to his father, his head on James' chest. James was also asleep with his glasses half hanging off of his face. Lily chuckled quietly to herself and crept into the room to take off James' glasses and placed them on the end table next to Harry's. She kissed both of them on the forehead and went to bed.

The next day, Harry's eyes fluttered open and grabbed his glasses and put them on his face. Once he could see, he looked up and saw his father's sleeping form and smiled. He closed his eyes again, content to just spend time with his father that he never had chance to. He then remembered why his dad was in his bed and what happened the night before and his mood plummeted.

They know.

He stood up quietly so he didn't wake James and snuck out of the room. He walked around aimlessly for a while, not knowing how to handle the situation. He hoped that his parents wouldn't care that he wasn't as brave as they thought he was, he was the boy who lived after all; he'd faced Voldemort 3 times and lived to tell the tale and yet he let his muggle uncle do this to him. He finally decided he couldn't hide forever and trudged down to the kitchen to find his mother making breakfast. Harry didn't know how to handle the situation, what did his mum make of him now? Did she still want him, she must do or he would be long gone. He decided he'd just sneak back upstairs. Unfortunately for him, Lily chose that moment to turn around.  
"Good morning sweetheart. Do you want some eggs?" she smiled sweetly. Harry just stared at her. Did he dream what happened last night, was it real? Harry dumbly nodded. Lily seemed to sense Harry's internal struggle and put down the egg she was just about to crack and went over to Harry. She hugged him tight "I love you sweetie, so does your dad and that is never going to change. I'm so sorry you had to endure those monsters for so long but it's over now and you're never going back. Do you understand? Harry nodded again in disbelief, no one had ever told him that they loved him before. He was absolutely overwhelmed. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you ever do, your dad and I will always be here." Lily smiled at him again and kissed his forehead "Now, how about those eggs?" Harry nodded dumbly again and turned to sit down at the kitchen island in the centre of the huge kitchen so his mother didn't see his unshed tears.

James shuffled into the room and rubbed his hazel eyes under his round glasses and sat down next to his son, ruffling his already messy hair.  
"What's for breakfast Lily flower?" James yawned sleepily. Lily was just about to answer her husband when in came a Sirius like whirlwind closely followed by Remus who looked slightly irritated to be dragged out of bed so early.  
"EGGS AND BACON!" He exclaimed while taking a seat next to James.  
"That answers that question." James muttered sleepily, cursing the entire concept of morning people.  
"Good morning Prongs, Lily flower and Prongslet" Sirius said cheerfully while Remus chuckled to himself looking at James' slightly irked expression. Lily rolled her eyes playfully and waved her wand, getting two more plates out of the cupboard and grabbed five mugs of coffee which seemed to work its magic and perked James up instantly. A vaguely familiar, minute owl came swooping into the room through the open window and dropped a letter in front of Harry addressed to him. He opened it and read it quickly and then had to read it again a couple of time because he couldn't quite believe his eyes.  
"Ron's dad got tickets to the Quidditch world cup final!" Harry proclaimed excitedly "There's enough tickets for all of us!" Harry grinned, all the anxiety from the night before wearing off instantly as James and Sirius cheered triumphantly.  
"When's the match?" Sirius asked eagerly, happy to have something to look forward to after so many years of being locked up in Azkaban.  
"August 22nd, we're meeting the Weasley's at the Burrow" Harry answered.  
"What are you waiting for Harry" James said, running out the room and came zooming in seconds later with parchment and a quill, "answer him, say yes!"  
Harry scribbled a quick reply to his best friend saying of course they'd love to go. "Speaking of Quidditch, want to put your firebolt to use and go flying? We didn't have that Quidditch pitch built for nothing. You could invite the Weasleys over if you want, we could all play." James suggested. Harry nodded quickly and then was suddenly really confused, it would take a while for Ron to reply via owl; how would they get the reply the same day? James saw Harry's confused expression and cursed Dumbledore for not teaching Harry everything about magic when he first found out he was a wizard. "Come on Prongslet, I'll show you" James offered.

He led Harry over to the fire place and grabbed the pot of floo powder off of the mantel piece. He tossed some into the roaring flames until they turned green, said loudly and clearly "The Burrow!" and he stuck his head into the fire. Harry was startled; he'd travelled by floo powder before but he'd never seen someone just put their head in, what was his dad doing? "D-dad what are you doing?" Harry questioned reluctantly.  
"If you put your head in the fire, the people in the other fireplace can see your face, it's our way of communicating" Sirius answered informingly from the back of the room, having just entered knowing James would need help explaining. A few minutes later James took his head out of the flames  
"They'll be here in an hour" he said with a smile "better get ready Prongslet, you may be my son but I won't go easy on you." Harry laughed, thoroughly looking forward to proving his dad wrong.

Prove him wrong he did, Harry and James were on opposite teams with Ron, Fred and George on Harry's team and Sirius and Remus on James' team. The game was tied until James and Harry caught a glance at the snitch at the same time, they both dived for it but James pulled out before Harry, thinking it impossible to catch without crashing but Harry pulled out just in time with the snitch firmly in his grasp. James was in awe of his son, so he didn't mind losing to him however, Sirius did. He kept switching the blame from the uneven numbers to James  
"How could you lose to your 13 year old son?" Sirius exclaimed accusingly to which everyone laughed. Lily was caught cheering from the window which enraged Sirius even more. "What are you cheering for? Your poor useless husband lost!"  
"Yes but my amazingly talented son won, which is a cause for celebration!" she retorted playfully, sticking her tongue out at Sirius while going over to hug her son. Sirius finally barked a laugh and let it go. He went over to Harry and ruffled his hair and said  
"Well played Prongslet, well played."

Later on Hermione arrived with the rest of the Weasleys and while the kids went upstairs the adults talked in the kitchen.  
"Lils what did you do last night?" James asked gravely, fearing the answer he might get.  
"I punched Vernon and I had a much needed chat with my sister and told her what she needed to hear." Lily answered matter-of-factly and James let out a sigh of relief. Everyone else in the kitchen looked thoroughly puzzled.  
"What are we missing here?" Remus questioned.  
"Harry had a nightmare last night. We ran in and he was screaming at his Uncle to stop whatever he was doing, after we calmed him down he told us that they abused him!" James spat venomously. Remus' eyes flashed yellow, Sirius' face went beet red and Molly and Arthur gasped.  
"How could someone do that to a child?" Molly whispered "If we had known dear, we would have had him out of there immediately." Lily nodded appreciatively and the two mothers hugged.  
"When are we going to curse them?" Sirius asked seriously.  
"We're not. I already did what I had to do last night, that's the last they'll see of magic." Lily insisted. James, Sirius and Remus looked about ready to argue, outrage on their faces, but Lily wasn't finished.

"However, I'm taking this to the Ministry of Magic and justice will be served, that whale will go to prison for hurting Harry!" Lily finished passionately.

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**Vernon's going to get what he deserves! **

**What do you guys think?**


	9. Chapter 9: Dursley's Just Deserts

**Hey guys! So, this story now has over 13,000 views and over 150 followers! OMG that's insane! Thank you so much for all the support over the past month and I've really been enjoying writing for you all. Here's chapter 9!**

**Trigger Warnings: mentions of child abuse!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**Chapter 9 – Dursley's Just Deserts**

A couple of weeks had passed and the trial had been decided. Lily had spoken to Amelia Bones at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Office and she was outraged that a family member could do that to a poor, defenceless child and agreed to do all that she could to make sure that Vernon went to prison for what he'd done to Harry. It wasn't very often the Ministry had to deal with muggle criminals but when it involved a wizard they would deal with it. The next day, when Amelia had gathered all the evidence that Lily had given her, she sent a group from the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol to Privet Drive and they arrested Vernon Dursley on suspicion of child abuse and he would be held at the ministry until his trial. The Patrol officers came at night so none of the neighbours would see them apparate away with Vernon, much to Petunia's relief despite the situation. If any of the neighbours asked the next day where Vernon was she told them that he was away on very important business. Only she and Dudley knew the truth.

James and Lily had told Harry what had happened on the day of Vernon's arrest. He didn't know what to think, in one way he was glad that his parents cared enough to take legal action against his uncle but on the other hand, he didn't want any more trouble and wanted to move on with his life. A couple of things were worrying him; for one, he had to stand up and give evidence against his uncle which meant seeing him again. Harry feared what would happen when his uncle laid eyes on him again, he'd heard every name under the sun his uncle had for him, but never in public in the magical world; which led onto the next thing on Harry's mind: what if the magical world judged him for not being able to deal with his uncle? He knew that the Daily Prophet will hear of the trial and surely write about it the next day. He was the boy who lived and yet he couldn't even deal with one muggle man, would the people of his world cast him out for this? He knew his family wouldn't, but he didn't have the reassurance from the rest of the world. His parents repeated over and over again that no one would think him any weaker for what he went through and if they did then they would get through it together as a family. This helped for a time until Harry's mind wandered to when he would eventually go back to school and have to deal with Malfoy and all the other Slytherins making comment after comment about how he let a mere muggle push him around.

The day of the trial came and Harry woke up after a night of tossing, turning and nightmares to his father's smiling face with a tray of breakfast for him.  
"With compliments from the chef" James said jokingly. Harry gave his most convincing smile back but didn't have James fooled for one second.  
"It's going to be okay Prongslet, I promise. After today it will all be over, your mum and I will be right in there with you, you have nothing to worry about." He reassured him comfortingly, he kissed his forehead and set his breakfast tray in his lap.  
"I know, I just have this feeling in my chest that something's going to go wrong. What if people think I'm lying or just doing it to get attention?" Harry wondered aloud anxiously.  
"Harry, when people take one look at that man and the way he treats wizards and witches they will know that you are telling the truth and if people do think you're doing this for attention; well, they aren't worth worrying about, okay?" James said, trying to put his son's mind at rest. Harry nodded and proceeded to reluctantly eat his breakfast as James left the room.

James walked into the kitchen and sighed heavily. Lily looked up from the breakfast she was nervously picking at. "Is he okay?" she asked worriedly, putting her fork down.  
"He's just anxious about the trial but he'll get through it, he's strong Lily Flower, don't worry." James said, trying to reassure both Lily and himself. Lily's bright green eyes were laced with anxiety for her son.  
"James, do you think I did the right thing putting him through this?" She asked hesitantly.  
"Lils, we've been over this a million times. Yes, you did the right thing, this man needs to be brought to justice and Harry knows this, we've given him the option to back out and he's refused every single time." He answered confidently and went over to hug her. She grabbed on tightly, taking all the comfort and reassurance she needed.

Later that day, Harry, James and Lily travelled to the Ministry with Remus and Sirius. Harry marvelled at his surroundings, the dark wooden walls were filled with fireplaces, Harry swore he'd never seen so many in his life. On one side people were arriving with a burst of green flames through the floo network and on the other people were queueing to leave. Harry turned his awed gaze towards the shining fountain of the witch, wizard, centaur, elf and goblin and had to gasp at the beauty of it. His parents guided him to the desk labelled 'Security'. The man goggled at the group for a second since it consisted of the boy who lived, previously dead people, an ex-convict and a werewolf. However, after one particularly dangerous gaze from all three marauders the man did his job. Harry stood still while the golden rod examined him and he presented his wand as asked. James and Lily hurried Harry along to the courtroom before the man or anyone else around could say anything further.

Once they got to the courtroom door, Harry's fear started to set in again. He felt like he was the one who was just about to face trial, not his uncle.  
"Harry?" James prompted anxiously. Harry realised that he'd been so caught up in his own thoughts that he'd missed out on what his dad was saying.  
"I'm sorry?" Harry said, looking bewildered.  
"I said are you ready?" James repeated, putting his hands on his son's shoulders firmly, grounding him. Harry nodded what he hoped was convincingly. With that, James pushed open the door and the family walked inside and took their seats on the high benches on the opposite side of the Wizengamot. Harry's hands were shaking consistently and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make them stop. His uncle would be entering the room any second. It was going to happen and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He suddenly felt trapped. He couldn't see the door and that terrified him. There were so many people in the room and although the jury were only whispering to each other, it was too loud, there were too many voices at once going round and round in Harry's head and he couldn't make them stop. He could hear his uncle over all of them calling him a freak and he knew that he couldn't let that happen in the court room. He started to feel nauseous and his vision blurred. He didn't even realise that his breathing had gotten faster or that sweat had started to pour down his face. Lily took one look at him and knew that something wasn't right. She took her hands gently in his and started to sing her lullaby softly in his ear to calm him down. Harry's breathing slowly evened out and the sweating dissipated with the voices. The door creaked opened ominously.

Vernon Dursley walked into the room accompanied by two officers of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Patrol. Terrified was an understated way to describe what he felt right then; for once he didn't have the upper hand, the freaks did. His eyes darted around to the people dressed in plum coloured robes and the woman who seemed to be the judge and another woman dressed in green, with blond hair and glasses at the back of the room, a notepad and quill beside her. His eyes then went to the other side of the room, his eyes met Harry's and his whole body filled with silent, fiery rage. He was forced down into the seat in the middle of the room and like the chains did for Sirius, they glowed gold and wrapped themselves tightly around his massive arms. Vernon was outraged.

"I WILL NOT BE TREATED LIKE THIS. THIS IS A BREACH OF MY HUMAN RIGHTS! I DEMAND A LAWYER!" Vernon screamed, feeling undignified by his current situation. "IN MY WORLD I TELL YOU WE ARE TREATED WITH DIGNITY, I REFUSE TO BE TREATED LIKE A CRIMINAL!"  
"Whether you are a criminal or not is to be decided Mr, Dursley." Amelia commented curtly and then proceeded with the trail. "We are gathered here today for the trial of Mr. Vernon Dursley who has allegedly abused a wizard child, one Mr. Harry James Potter. How do you plead to these terms?"  
Vernon looked scandalised as if the charges were news to him.  
"Not guilty. Whatever the brat got he rightly deserved. We gave him a roof over his head and food off of our table all out of the kindness of our hearts and all the brat ever was, was ungrateful" Vernon spat. This gave the jury a lot to talk about, and there were many whispers about what exactly Harry 'got'. Amelia silenced the jury and asked her next question that everyone wanted to know,  
"And what exactly did Mr. Potter get?" Vernon started mumbling incoherently while trying to find something to say since he knew he was caught. "I'm afraid you'll have to speak up Mr. Dursley we can't hear you." Amelia said irritably, quickly losing her patience with the man.  
"WHAT HE DESERVED THAT'S WHAT! HE'S A FREAK AND SO ARE ALL OF YOU!" Vernon raged. The whole Wizengamot started shouting in outrage and took almost five minutes to be silenced.  
"If you won't tell us exactly what happened Mr. Dursley, then maybe Mr. Potter will. Mr. Potter if you will." Amelia motioned towards Harry and all the WIzengamot turned as one to the shaking thirteen year old sat between his parents. Harry nervously stood up and with encouraging smiles from his parents, he made his way towards the stand, all the way avoiding his uncle's unwavering, furious gaze.

"Mr. Potter, I know this may be hard but can you please tell us how you were treated at the hands of your uncle?" Amelia asked more calmly than she had with Vernon. Harry shakily nodded and started his tale.  
"He kept me in the cupboard under the stairs for 10 years until my Hogwarts letters started to come. He had me cook the food from when I was about 6." Harry's voice grew in confidence and anger at his uncle and he looked him straight in the eyes. "If I ever did anything or said anything he didn't like he would beat me. He put bars on my window when I was 12 so I couldn't go back to Hogwarts and I was given food through a cat flap, and was locked in my room for the rest of the summer. He would call me a freak on a daily basis and for 10 years of my life I believed him, until I found out about the magical world." Everyone was shocked into silence until Vernon finally found his voice again.  
"THE BOY IS LYING! IT'S ALL HE EVER DOES. IT'S ALL HE'S GOOD AT!" Vernon exclaimed. While Vernon was ranting Harry never stopped glaring daggers at his uncle. He was going to be strong and not let his uncle control him anymore.  
"Mr. Dursley, please be quiet." Amelia snapped, finally losing her last scrap of patience. "I think we've heard enough. Those in favour of conviction?" Everyone on the Wizengamot raised their hands. No one could deny that this man was guilty. "And those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?" No one raised their hands. "Mr. Vernon Dursley you are found guilty of child abuse and will spend a minimum of three years in a muggle prison."

Vernon was grabbed by the arms by the Patrol officers as soon as he was released from the chains. However, he shrugged them off and charged straight for Harry. He grabbed him by the neck of his t-shirt and dragged him off of the stand. The officers grabbed their wands but before they could even utter a spell James had yelled "Stupefy" and Vernon fell unconscious to the floor. James ran over to his son as the officers levitated Vernon out of the room.  
"Prongslet, are you okay?" James asked worriedly, checking Harry over for any injuries and then hugged him close.  
"I'm fine Dad, really" Harry answered with a heavy sigh as Lily, Sirius and Remus also came running over.  
"It's over now, he's gone" Harry reassured himself.

The group of five made their way out of the courtroom and were just about to step into the lift to take them to the atrium when they were stopped in their tracks by the woman with blond hair and glasses, she had a smirk on her face and there was something about her Harry didn't like.  
"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. Do you mind if I have a word Mr. Potter?" She asked with a sickly sweet voice which made Harry trust her even less. James subtly pulled Harry behind him defensively and answered for him.  
"I'm sorry Miss Skeeter, but we're in a bit of a hurry." James managed to slip past the reporter and urged everyone into the lift.

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	10. Chapter 10: Moony, Padfoot and Prongs

**Here's chapter 10!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**Chapter 10 – Moony, Padfoot and Prongs**

The very next day after the trial, Harry's picture was plastered all over the Daily Prophet with a story about how the famous boy who lived was just a poor orphan boy who was abused by none other than muggles; that Harry had took to the stand and burst into a flood of tears as he recounted his years with the Dursleys. The Potters were furious with Rita's article, so much so that Lily had to stop James from going to the Ministry and cursing her, but they got through it as a family. As the backlash dissipated, everything calmed down in the Potter household and Harry was having the best summer of his life. He played Quidditch with his father almost every day, could see his friends whenever he wanted to, actually not have to rush to do his homework and every night got to hear stories about the Marauders and their many pranks. He loved all those things but the best thing about this summer for Harry was that he actually felt like he belonged somewhere.

Harry came down to breakfast that morning to find James, Remus and Sirius all huddled together whispering urgently, none of them noticing him. Remus looked extremely concerned with whatever they were planning and James and Sirius were trying to talk him round to the idea. Remus looked even more pale and sickly than he normally did, so much so he could pass as a Hogwarts ghost, his eyes were red from lack of sleep and he had deep frown lines across his forehead. Harry didn't feel right eavesdropping on his family so he cleared his throat and the trio stopped conspiring immediately.  
"Should I be worried about a prank coming my way?" Harry asked, smirking exactly how James used to.  
"Oh it's nothing like that Prongslet." His dad said dismissively and then turned back to Sirius and Remus and they started whispering fervently again. Harry's curiosity peaked so he questioned further,  
"What are you talking about then?" James and Remus sighed simultaneously.  
"Harry, just promise me something, don't leave the house tonight, just stay inside." Remus urged.  
"Okay." Harry agreed looking confused. James and Sirius rolled their eyes and James explained the 'problem'.  
"It's a full moon tonight and after what happened last month, Remus is worried about turning again even though he's going to take his potion and we'll be there." Remus shook his head slightly, looking tired of having to explain his point of view more than one too many times.  
"It's you two being there that's the problem. Sirius, I could've killed you last time and I don't want that to happen again, and if I turn here that puts Harry and Lily in danger too." Remus argued worriedly.  
"Moony, it'll be fine. Harry's promised to stay inside, you'll take your potion and we used to go out with you all the time at school and nothing happened." James reassured him. Remus gave a slightly uncertain smile knowing that nothing he could say could change his friends' minds and Sirius cheered.  
"Then it's settled, Moony, Padfoot and Prongs will be reunited once more." Sirius stated triumphantly.

James, Sirius and Remus left the Manor and went into the grounds at 10pm, after Remus had taken his Wolfbane potion of course. Despite having to turn tonight and his anxiety about it earlier, the closer the time came, the more excited he felt. Finally, his pack will be reunited properly and it would be just like it was. He wasn't the only one either, James chuckled as Sirius practically skipped into the fields that surrounded the manor where Remus used to transform when the Marauders used to stay at Potter Manor over the summer. Once they were situated in a place which was far enough away from the house but still in the wards so no muggles would accidently stumble upon them, the three men gazed up at the starlit sky and waited for the moon to rise.

At exactly midnight Remus started to transform, his eyes flashed yellow as his shoulders hunched, hair started sprouting all of his body and his hands started turning into paws. James and Sirius always hated watching their friend transforming, they hated to see him in pain when they could do nothing about it. As the transformation completed they quickly transformed into their animagus forms so Moony didn't have to fight the urge to lash out at them. The giant black, shaggy dog and magnificent stag took their places and they stared at the wolf in front of them for a few seconds. All three pounced at once, landing awkwardly in a heap on the overgrown fields of grass, and rolled around together happily, overjoyed that the pack was back together again. They were ready for a night of fun just like when they were at Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, Harry was in his room, kneeling on his window seat with his face pressed up against the window, squinting through to try and see the Marauders in action. He'd heard about the Marauders' many adventures in the Hogwarts grounds over the last few weeks and could only imagine what they were getting up to. He also knew how much having Padfoot and Prongs helped Moony, even though the Wolfsbane potion had been developed and he didn't hurt himself when he transformed anymore, Moony still felt alone but he didn't have to anymore and Harry wished that he could help Remus the way his father and godfather did. Everyone kept asking Harry what he wanted for his birthday and he kept telling them that it didn't matter, they didn't have to get him anything but he'd finally decided what he wanted. He was going to ask his dad to help him become an animagus.

Harry turned around as Lily knocked on his door and opened it, bringing in two mugs of hot chocolate.  
"Hi sweetie, I brought hot chocolate." She looked at Harry's thoughtful face. "Absolutely not." Harry was shocked and then laughed.  
"I didn't even say anything." He defended jokingly. She rolled her eyes and passed him his mug.  
"I know that face, you want your dad to teach you how to be an animagus so you can help Remus. It's a lovely gesture Harry but it's dangerous and I don't want you getting hurt." It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes.  
"But Mum I've done a lot more dangerous things in the past, I've faced Voldemort as many times as you and Dad and made it out alive, I think I can handle this." He argued but immediately realised bringing up his past run-ins with Voldemort was a big mistake, Lily's eyes flashed dangerously and she silently cursed Dumbledore for the umpteenth time.  
"Harry James Potter, yes you were in dangerous situations but you should have never been put in those situations in the first place and I will do everything in my power to keep you out of anymore. Understand?" Harry nodded and bowed his head in shame, he didn't want to make his mother worry, but he still wanted to help his honorary godfather.  
"It took Dad and Sirius three years to become animagi. If it takes me just as long then I'll be sixteen by the time I would be able to fully transform." Harry reasoned, hoping he could talk his mum around to the idea and convince her he would be fine. Lily looked thoughtful for a minute and Harry hoped that he was getting through to her.  
"I'll think about it sweetie but please this year just try and stay out of trouble." Lily pleaded.  
"I promise Mum, I never go looking for trouble and I'll try even harder this year." Harry promised his mother, looking her straight in the eyes that were identical to his own. Lily smiled at him lovingly and urged him to drink his hot chocolate before it got cold and they stayed like that for hours, now and again their gaze straying to the window.

As the sun started to rise the next morning, Remus transformed back into his human self without so much as a scratch on his body. He gingerly got to his feet, exhausted from the transformation and being up all night. A few feet away from him were a sleeping dog and stag. He grinned to himself as the inner marauder came shining through. He crept inches away from the sleeping animals and shouted  
"WAKE UP!" Padfoot jumped up out of his skin, his fur standing on end like a cat and landed straight on top of Prongs which made Prongs jump up and start bucking violently trying to get the terrified dog off of his back. The two looked like they were at a rodeo and Remus couldn't stop laughing at his best friends. Padfoot finally came flying off of the stag and landed in front of a nearby tree. The two animals changed back into their human forms and couldn't help but start laughing themselves. Once they had calmed down enough to start walking, they made their way back up to Potter Manor for breakfast after the best time together the three men had had in a long time.

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**Hi guys thanks for reading. What do you think to Eddie Redmayne being cast as Newt Scammander? I can't believe that it's only just over a year away until it comes out, so excited!**

**Reviews are appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 11: Harry's Birthday

**Here's chapter 11!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**Chapter 11 - Harry's Birthday**

Harry woke up early on the morning of his birthday with a smile to find a big pile of presents at the end of his four poster bed. He'd never seen so many presents for one person before, except perhaps for Dudley, but certainly not for himself. The door opened and his mum, dad, Sirius and Remus came bursting in yelling "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" Harry grinned from ear to ear as he hugged each and every one of them gratefully. The four adults took a seat on Harry's bed while Harry proceeded to open his mass of presents. He opened Ron and Hermione's presents first which contained a mass of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Ron and books on Quidditch from Hermione. He then proceeded to open some of his other presents from Hagrid, Neville, Dean and Seamus. Harry then opened Remus' presents which were Defence books which he promised to go through with him whenever he wanted and a whole lot of chocolate. Harry then went to open Sirius' presents which were a brand new Quidditch set however, Harry thought it was quite strange that the snitch was missing but chose not to question it, and a pair of omnioculars for the Quidditch World Cup that was next month. Harry thanked him and Remus for their presents and turned to his parents' presents.

Harry picked up the bigger one of the three and pulled the wrapping paper slowly, inside was what seemed to be a snow globe. Inside the snow globe were a tiny wolf, stag and dog, all staring up at him happily; they were in a forest where the sun was shining brightly. As Harry shook the snow globe, the animals started to chase each other playfully around the miniature forest. Harry laughed at the animals' antics and his dad spoke up  
"The snow globe's enchanted to change with the seasons, when it gets to autumn then the leaves will fall off the trees and so on." Harry smiled and went to hug his mother and father.  
"Come on Prongslet, open the rest!" Sirius urged, ruffling Harry's messy hair. Harry grabbed the smallest of the three presents and opened it, it was an old snitch. Harry studied it carefully and then looked up to see everyone smiling nostalgically at him.  
"This was mine. I used to mess around with it all the time to try and impress your mum." James explained with a laugh.  
"Not like it worked" Lily added, smirking. James pouted at him wife and they both laughed thinking back on the many times James would try and ask her out. Harry grinned at his snitch and knew he'd treasure it forever. He picked up the last rectangular present and ripped off the wrapping paper. It was a book called 'Ten steps to finding your animagus form'. Harry smiled at his mum who looked to be questioning if she was doing the right thing even though deep inside she knew she was.  
"Thank you so much." Harry said and hugged his parents once again.  
"We'll start with the mandrake leaf since you have to hold that under your tongue for a month and honestly it would be easier to do at home than at school." James said. "Then we'll make the potion which will tell you what your form will be and then we'll start with learning the transformation which is the hardest part Harry. It will take a while, it took us years to master and you have to be very careful, we wouldn't want you to get stuck that way so always have someone with you when you practise." James finished and then grinned at his son. Harry grinned an identical grin back, feeling like he was really becoming part of the Marauders and was excited to know what his form would be.

Later that day, the Weasleys, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus and Hagrid came round for Harry's birthday party and Harry thanked them all for the presents he'd received. Lily had spent all day setting the dining room up for the first birthday party that she had thrown her son in 13 years, she was so excited. She raced into the kitchen to find that the house elves had just finished the three tiered birthday cake which looked like an exact replica of the Quidditch pitch outside that Lily had insisted on helping them bake and grinned, knowing Harry would love it. She wanted today to be the best birthday Harry had ever had to make up for all the time they had lost together. She thanked the three house elves cleaning up the kitchen and checked the amazing cake for any flaws, she needed it to be perfect. James stepped in to find his wife's face so close to the cake just one misstep would send her flying straight into it, her face was scrunched up examining each drop of icing as if daring it to fall one inch out of place.  
"Lily Flower stop worrying, the cake is fantastic. Harry will love it." James said calmly, trying to calm her down. However, Lily jumped at her husband's voice, not realising he was there and tripped. James, using his flawless Quidditch skills, managed to catch her before she went tumbling into the cake. He kissed her sweetly and said "Everything will be just fine." Lily giggled and nodded.  
"I know. Now, help me get the cake into the dining room and keep Sirius away from it till we've sung happy birthday for Merlin's sake or it'll be gone before Harry even has a chance to blow out a single candle." She said resuming her racing around, James chuckled and mock saluted her before grabbing the enormous cake and taking it into the dining room.

Harry thought the dinner was great, they had all his favourites including treacle tart for dessert. He had great fun with his friends, talking about the Quidditch World Cup that they would soon be going to and speculating about the big thing that's happening at Hogwarts this year that every one of the older Weasleys seem to be talking about but is apparently top secret. The lights suddenly went out and everyone's eyes went to the door to see James walk in with a magnificent cake of a Quidditch pitch. Harry's eyes lit up almost as bright as the candles Lily had just lit with her wand. Everyone started to sing happy birthday to him. Harry swore he'd never been so happy in all his life. Once everyone had finished singing his mum told him to make a wish but he had no idea what to wish for, he already had everything he wanted, he didn't need anything else. Without warning, an official looking owl came swooping through the window and landed in front of the cake and stuck out its leg to James, waiting patiently for him to take the letter. James read through it quickly three times and then grabbed Sirius and Remus and they raced out of the room in a flash.  
"James where are you going? What did the letter say?" Lily shouted after him. She picked up the letter, read it and gasped. "Peter's been sighted." She whispered. Harry suddenly knew what he wanted to wish for and blew out the candles viciously. He wished for Peter to be found so he could have one happy day without something Voldemort related coming to ruin it.

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**Cliff-hanger alert! Sorry this one's quite short but I've almost finished editing chapter 12 and that should be up either later today or early tomorrow so don't worry you won't have to wait long! XD **

**Reviews are appreciated! **


	12. Chapter 12: The Next Step

**As promised, here's chapter 12! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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**Chapter 12: The Next Step**

Lily read the letter over and over again:

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_It is my duty to tell you that Peter Pettigrew has been sighted in his rat form on the coast of Italy. We have sent our best aurors after him immediately and hope to have good news by the end of the evening._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

She was worried about James, Sirius and Remus and didn't want them to get into trouble, after all, James and Sirius weren't aurors any more, they had no business being there. She was left waiting in the living room for hours staring at the door, wondering whether Wormtail was going to be brought to justice or would they just be disappointed again. Mrs Weasley had insisted that Harry stay at the Burrow tonight. Lily had agreed and thanked her gratefully and told Harry she'd fire call him as soon as James came home.

She woke up to someone shaking her. She opened her eyes and saw James in front of her, looking extremely tired and frustrated. He shook his head slightly and Lily's heart dropped to her stomach. The little rat had wormed his way out of getting caught once again. She hugged her husband tightly and looked over to see Sirius and Remus with the same dejected face as James, nursing tea the house elves had made for them.  
"We had him Lils. He was right there, right there! The aurors had him and then when their backs were turned and even though they had anti-apparating wards up, he'd somehow just disappeared, he could have gone anywhere, scurried onto a boat or into the sewers, Merlin knows! I just want him found Lils, he's looking for Voldemort and that means Harry's in danger and we can't fail him again Lily, we can't!" James ranted, slamming his fist on to the coffee table in frustration. Lily grabbed James' hand and took it into her own comfortingly, trying to calm down her enraged husband.  
"I know James but there's nothing we can do about it now, we'll find him before he finds Voldemort, no one knows what happened to him after what happened with Quirrell and Harry so he'll have a long job ahead of him trying to find a man who might not even be a man anymore." Lily soothed and James sat down next to his wife, sighing heavily, wanting nothing more than to go to bed and forget about the night's events. He felt really guilty for running off in the middle of Harry's birthday party but knew that Harry would understand that he needed to go and would forgive him, Remus and Sirius for running off. A phoenix patronus suddenly appeared in the living room in front of James and Lily, floating gracefully and lighting up the darkened room. Dumbledore's voice came booming out of the phoenix  
"There's a meeting in my office about Mr. Pettigrew in 10 minutes." Lily and James jumped out of their seats immediately. They ate breakfast as quickly as they could and in silence, hoping Dumbledore had a solution to their rat problem. Just before they left Lily flooed the Burrow and told Harry what was happening and told him that they'll come for him after the meeting was finished.

When James, Lily, Sirius and Remus arrived at Dumbledore's office through the fireplace they were met with the twinkling eyes of Dumbledore along with Mcgonagall, Snape, Mad Eye Moody and Kingsley Shaklebolt. James and Sirius had both worked with Mad Eye and Kingsley back when they were aurors and knew them quite well.  
"If you'll take a seat and we'll get started." Dumbledore began. "Now as all of you know, Mr. Pettigrew was seen on the coast of Italy last night and managed to escape the grasp of the aurors chasing after him. What we want to know is why he was in Italy in the first place. Where was he heading or who was he heading to? We know that Peter was a servant of Lord Voldemort and is probably trying to find a way to resurrect him somehow. We have to find him and find out how he would possibly bring his master back to full strength." Everyone nodded in agreement and Kingsley spoke up  
"We're speaking to the Ministry in Italy, telling them to put up wanted posters for him and keep an eye out. We're also sending out aurors to surrounding countries to try and find Pettigrew again. While we're at it Barty Crouch wants us to look for Bertha Jorkins anyway, she was supposed to come back from Albania but hasn't yet. She was at school with all of you so she will know him if she sees him."  
"Merlin knows she will, she was always gossiping about one thing or another at school, if she sees Peter she'll be dying to tell somebody." Sirius commented, everyone who remembered her from Hogwarts chuckled quietly.

After they spoke for what felt like hours of many strategies to catch Wormtail the meeting finally came to a close. Throughout the whole meeting Severus kept his eyes averted from Lily's, not daring to look into those eyes which might show as much hate as he saw in her son. Lily however, couldn't stop stealing glances at her childhood friend, knowing that she couldn't avoid him forever and she needed to talk to him. She was very confused about her feelings towards him. On one hand he had been bullying Harry and all the other Gryffindors for years just because of childhood rivalries. On the other hand, he had protected Harry many times for Dumbledore and took a risk by changing sides and leaving the Death Eaters. She turned to James and told him, Sirius and Remus to go home without her and she'll catch them up. She approached Severus apprehensively and asked if she could speak to him alone, he nodded weakly, averting his eyes immediately and led her down to his office in the dungeons in silence, walking slightly ahead so he didn't have to look at her.

Once inside, he took a seat behind his desk and finally turned to look her in the eyes. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, even if she was standing awkwardly by the door, the first rays of sunlight shining through the open window and lighting up her fiery hair. She stood in silence for a few seconds and then proceeded with the speech years in the making.  
"First, thank you for looking out for Harry since he came to Hogwarts; Dumbledore told me what you did for him and I'm extremely grateful for it. You finally realised which was the right side to be on and Sev, I'm so glad you realised before it was too late." She thanked him and Severus smiled awkwardly, waiting for the 'but' that was surely coming and knew that hoping for friendship was becoming more unrealistic by the second. "However, if we are going to be friends again you need to treat every child in your classes fairly, I've heard how you treat not just Harry but all Gryffindors and Sev, you can't let house rivalries get in the way of your teaching. Harry and Remus told me that Neville Longbottom's boggart is you, his parents, my friends, were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and his biggest fear is his Potions teacher; Sev, that's just wrong! Harry isn't James Sev, in fact I see more and more of myself in him every day. He did nothing to you, just because he looks like James you automatically hated him from day one. I need you to promise me that you'll treat him and the rest of the students fairly, then we have a chance at being friends again." She finished seriously, Severus was shocked that she actually wanted to be friends and knew that he couldn't let this opportunity go, he could finally make up for that horrible mistake he made when he was fifteen. He didn't know what to say or how to say it, he was afraid that if he opened his mouth he would say the wrong thing and ruin it all again. Lily still stood by the door, waiting for his answer.  
"I'm sorry for what I said all those years ago Lily, I didn't mean it…" Severus started but Lily interrupted,  
"Just because you didn't think of me that way Severus, doesn't mean you didn't think of everyone else with my heritage that way, I was just the same as them." She said angrily, still feeling the hurt of that day, thinking back to the time when they were much younger and Severus telling her that being a muggleborn didn't matter and how he'd betrayed those words years later.  
"I promise I'll leave Potter and his friends alone." Severus said in a bland voice, not trusting himself to say anything else.  
"I'm sorry Sev," Lily sighed, frustrated at herself for snapping, this was not how the conversation was supposed to go. "It hurt, what you said that day and it still hurts but I can put it behind me and we can be friends again, after all we're on the same side now." She smiled at him and he hesitantly smiled back, not daring to believe that this was actually happening. Severus stood up, not knowing what to say next, but Lily came over and hugged him tight. "I'm glad we can be friends again." She said, her voice full of hope that reminded Severus of when they were children and she used to talk about all the adventures they'd have at Hogwarts longingly.  
"Me too." He answered happily, feeling better than he had in a long time.

After leaving Severus' office, Lily made her way back up to Dumbledore's office to floo back home when she was stopped by the headmaster.  
"I think Severus will be much happier now that you two are friends again." He said cheerfully, his eyes twinkling more than ever. Lily smiled, glad she had done the right thing.  
"Thank you professor, I do too." Lily answered.  
"My dear girl, I have a proposition for you, I wanted to ask you after the meeting but I thought I'd better let you and Severus talk first." Lily wondered what on earth it could be, there were no jobs going at Hogwarts, the only post that needed filling was Defence Against the Dark Arts which was being filled by Moody as Dumbledore had mentioned in the meeting and surely there wasn't anything Dumbledore wanted Lily to do about Peter. "I was wondering if you would like to help Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing this year since it is the Triwizard Tournament and she may need some help. I know before Harry was born you wanted to train to be a healer and now might be your chance." Dumbledore asked. Lily was stunned but delighted, she could see Harry a lot more since she'd be at Hogwarts and get the training for the job she'd always dreamed of.  
"I would love to. I'll discuss it with James and get back to you later." Lily answered eagerly.

Meanwhile, back at Potter Manor, Harry had come home and was asking his father what Dumbledore was going to do about Wormtail.  
"How could they let him get away Dad? If Professor Trelawney's prophecy comes true and he finds Voldemort, he could come back, then what happens?" Harry asked looking very distressed at that last thought. These scenarios had been plaguing his mind all night. Could he face Voldemort again and survive? He'd faced him three times, was a fourth just pushing his luck? James came up to his son and put his hands on his shoulders and looked him straight into his eyes that were filled to the brim with worry.  
"Harry James Potter, don't you worry about Voldemort or Wormtail. I'm your father and no one else will not lay a finger on you while I'm around, understand? You're just a kid Harry, you shouldn't have to worry about this. You will go back to Hogwarts, have fun with your friends and play Quidditch and let us handle this okay?" James said passionately, trying to convey to his son that he will protect him no matter what. Lily came through the fireplace, bursting to tell her husband the good news but the sight of Harry's distressed face stopped her in her tracks.  
"Are you okay sweetie? What wrong?" she asked, her maternal instincts kicking in. She went over to him and hugged him tight, wanting to try and absorb all the worry out of his body. He hugged her back, still getting used to having parents and voicing his worries.  
"I'm fine Mum." He replied, hoping to drop the subject and regretting bringing up with his dad in the first place. Lily raised her eyebrows, not buying Harry's comment and turned to James, knowing she'd get a better answer from him.  
"He's worried about Voldemort coming back." James told his wife, wanting Harry to know that he could come to them about anything and they would help him through it, that he's not alone anymore. Lily hugged Harry to her again even tighter than before and cursed the world for creating people like Tom Riddle.  
"We're going to find Peter and stop him. He won't bring him back and if he does then we'll be the ones fighting, not you." Lily told her son confidently, knowing she shouldn't make these kind of promises but hoping against hope she could keep them.  
"Just promise me you won't die again. I don't want to lose you." Harry whispered quietly, his voice barely audible, but James and Lily heard it all the same and their hearts broke in two.  
"Prongslet, we're not going anywhere, okay? We'll be here when Voldemort is defeated, we'll be here when you leave Hogwarts and we'll be here to see you get married and to see our grandchildren. We won't leave you." James reassured him and the family hugged each other, taking in all the comfort that they needed. Lily pulled away and told them the good news.  
"Now that's sorted, I've got some news. Dumbledore's just offered me a job helping Madam Pomfrey out in the hospital wing this year, so you won't be seeing the last of me young man." She said playfully to Harry. Harry grinned at the thought at not having to leave his parents behind. It was a thought that had been gnawing away at him for some time, as much as he loved Hogwarts, he didn't want to have to leave his parents so soon after them coming back. James smiled too.  
"That's great news Lils, you can have the training you always wanted. Too bad Harry can't pull the pranks I was going to show him now." James laughed and Harry looked to the floor, trying to conceal his laughter and Lily put on a face of mock stern but was really happy to see her son happy. "Have you accepted?" James asked.  
"I was going to ask you first, but I think it's a great opportunity." Lily replied her eyes as bright as the sun.  
"Then it's official, the Potters are going to Hogwarts!" James exclaimed happily.

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**I hope I did the Severus/Lily chat justice, I found that scene really hard to write because I struggle with my opinion on Severus because he did save Harry's life multiple times and became a spy for Dumbledore which was incredibly brave but then I still don't see why he had to treat not only Harry but Neville and the rest of the students horribly. The fact that Neville's boggart was Snape should have been taken a little more seriously. I was also wondering if any of you guys know whether Lily and James knew about Snape telling Voldemort about the prophecy? I don't think it was said whether they knew or not in the books and I can't find any evidence saying they did so I didn't put it in. I just think if Lily knew then that may have changed her decision of being friends with him. **


	13. Chapter 13: Strange Dreams

**Hi guys! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I had a lot of trouble with it. I honestly don't think it's my best chapter but I think this is as good as it's going to get so here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**Chapter 13 – Strange Dreams and Stoatshead Hill**

Harry awoke with a start, not from a nightmare about his uncle or his parents dying like usual but something even more peculiar. The dream was so immersive it felt real to him and that thought was terrifying since if it was, that meant that Wormtail had found Voldemort and they spoke of having another accomplice at Hogwarts; not to mention Voldemort had started to murder again. Harry was shaking and his scar was burning like a bonfire as he looked outside his window to see the first rays of dawn shining over the forest of trees. He took some deep breaths, trying to calm down his erratic breathing and took a moment to go over the contents of the dream again, trying to make sure he remembered every little detail but it was impossible, the more he tried to hold onto the dream, the quicker it seemed to fade away. He wasn't sure whether or not to tell his parents, he was torn. He didn't want to worry them, he didn't know if it was even real but even if it had the tiniest chance that it could be true it could be the difference between someone's life and death. He couldn't recall what Voldemort looked like when Wormtail swung the chair around, only the terror that filled him when he did. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about how weak Voldemort must be at the moment but he could still create that kind of horrifying atmosphere, what would it be like when he had full power? Harry couldn't bear to imagine. He rubbed his scar as the pain started to subside slightly. He hopelessly wondered where that big house was and who was that muggle man who Voldemort had just murdered? Is this where Wormtail and Voldemort are hiding? Who is there accomplice? Are they back in the country?

One thing Harry did know, they were coming for_**him**_.

Harry went about his day as normally as he could, trying not to think about his dream and his aching scar and instead about the Quidditch World Cup which was the next day. He did some of his summer homework and went over the theory for some of the spells in his defence books with Remus like he promised him on his birthday. He'd gotten through quite a few spells and couldn't wait to try them when he got back to Hogwarts. He went over to the Burrow and played wizard chess with Ron and told him about the dream and his scar hurting.  
"Doesn't your scar only hurt when You-Know-Who's around? But he couldn't have been, I mean you'd know. He couldn't have got through the wards of the Manor undetected. It might've just been because of Wormtail being sighted last month that's got you all stressed out. I'll ask Dad about cursed scars, see if they ever hurt afterwards anyway, don't worry about it mate, it's the final tomorrow!" Ron reassured Harry, seeming quite calm about the whole thing, this made Harry feel a bit better and slightly ridiculous that he actually thought the dream might've been real. Ron was right, it was just the stress of the Wormtail sighting and then a phantom ache in his scar, right?

Harry awoke gratefully nightmare free the next day to Sirius shaking him awake.  
"Come on Prongslet wake up, we've got to get to the Burrow and then to the Portkey. Come on, get dressed and let's go. It's World Cup day!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly, looking like an overgrown five year old. Harry jumped up out of bed and got dressed once Sirius had left. He couldn't believe that today he'd actually get to see his first professional Quidditch game, the game was Bulgaria vs. Ireland and according to Ron the legendary Viktor Krum was playing as seeker for Bulgaria, despite just being eighteen and still in school at Durmstrang Institute he's an amazing seeker and Harry couldn't wait to watch him in action to see if he could learn anything new for the next Quidditch season at Hogwarts. He sped down the manor's magnificent staircase and over to the fireplace in the living room to find his father, Sirius and Remus waiting for him, all dressed in their muggle disguises. James and Sirius looked like Christmas had come early and were just itching to get on their way so they could see the stadium, Harry wasn't going to argue. He grabbed some floo powder from the pot on the mantelpiece, stepped inside and said "The Burrow" loudly and clearly, taking note not to breathe in too much so as not to swallow any ash like he did the first time he travelled using the wizarding transportation. Harry closed his eyes as he was sucked through the many fireplaces and landed into a familiar one. He opened his eyes again and was met with a very tired looking Ron and a furious looking Fred and George.  
"Mor-morning" Ron yawned, fighting a losing battle to stay awake.  
"Morning, where's everyone else?" Harry asked, slightly amused at Ron's lack of energy in the mornings, even when they were going to watch the Quidditch World Cup.  
"Mum's just gone to get the girls and Bill, Charlie and Percy get to sleep in because they're apparating, it's so unfair." Ron complained as he stifled yet another yawn. Fred and George grunted in agreement. Harry looked questioningly at Ron who explained that Mrs Weasley had just confiscated all the Weasley Wizard Wheezes supplies and destroyed it. James, Sirius and Remus came through the fireplace as Mrs Weasley appeared with the girls and Mr Weasley who was dressed surprisingly well in his muggle disguise.  
"How are we getting there?" Harry asked, thinking that floo or flying wouldn't be the most efficient ways for thousands of wizards transporting to the same place.  
"By Portkey," James explained. "It's another way for wizards to travel, you cast the spell on an object that would be unsuspecting to muggles so they wouldn't pick it up, everyone grabs onto it at the decided time and it takes you to where it was set to go. It's great for taking a lot of wizards and witches at one time." Harry nodded in understanding.  
"Where's the closest one to us Dad?" Ron asked, looking as if he was hoping his dad would just pull it out of his pocket so they didn't have to walk anywhere.  
"At the top of Stoatshead Hill" answered Mr Weasley as Ron groaned loudly.  
"It's not that far Ron, you can even see it from the window." Mr Weasley said while everyone else snickered at Ron's laziness.

The group of ten set off towards the long climb of Stoatshead Hill just outside of the village of Ottery St Catchpole in the semi darkness, the sun still not fully risen in the summer sky. The twins left without even saying goodbye to Mrs Weasley after she had destroyed their merchandise. The climb was exhausting for everyone at such an early time in the morning, so much so everyone was sweating profusely by the time they'd reached the top.  
"How long have we got Arthur?" James panted. Mr Weasley looked at his watch and replied  
"Ten minutes, we've got more than enough time to find the Portkey." James nodded back and they were just about to spread out to look for the Portkey when a voice coming from the other side of the hill stopped them.  
"Arthur I think we've found it!" Mr Weasley turned around and smiled at the ruddy faced wizard with a mouldy old boot in his hand and his very handsome son.  
"Everyone, this is Amos Diggory who also works at the Ministry and I think you kids know his son Cedric." Mr Weasley introduced the wizard who was now staring openly at James and Sirius, his eyes flying from one man to the other as though he was watching a tennis match. James felt as though he needed to break the awkwardness so went over to Amos and stuck his hand out for him to shake.  
"I'm James Potter, nice to meet you and this is Sirius Black who I'm sure you know and Remus Lupin." James said kindly, introducing himself and his friends, hoping Amos wasn't going to bring up Voldemort or Sirius being an ex-convict. Amos smiled back and shook James' hand.  
"Ah yes, my Cedric beat your son in his Quidditch game last year." Amos gloated, looking over at his son admirably. James' smile became more forced as he tried to keep his emotions in check.  
"Dad, Harry fell off of his broom. There should have been a re-match." Cedric pleaded with his father, trying to get him to drop the subject after seeing the look on James, Sirius, Fred and George's faces.  
"You didn't fall off now did you? So you won fair and square right Potter?" Amos resounded and then looked at James for an answer. Everyone surrounding the two men stared at James apprehensively, wondering what his reaction would be.  
"Right." James said through gritted teeth, choosing not to voice his true feelings and instead gave a pointed look at Sirius who looked as if he was going to do a little bit more than speak his mind.  
"I think we should get ready to go, we've only got a few minutes." Remus interjected, putting a hand on Sirius' shoulder, getting ready to hold him back if he needed to.

The manky, old boot was placed on the ground and everyone except Harry and Hermione who looked puzzled, gathered around the disgusting looking object and put a finger on it. Taking everyone's lead Harry and Hermione quickly put their fingers on the boot, hoping no muggles thought to take an early morning hike only to find a bunch of people huddled around a boot. Mr Weasley was looking between the boot and his watch.  
"Any second now." Mr Weasley announced and just as he finished his sentence, Harry felt an irresistible pull towards the boot, everyone was suddenly whirling around in nothingness and Harry couldn't lift his finger from the boot even if he wanted to. Just as quickly as it started, the whirling stopped and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny landed awkwardly on the floor in a heap. They all looked up to see the adults and Cedric land perfectly on their feet although they looked a little bedraggled.  
"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill" a voice of an elderly wizard called out. James held out his hand to help Harry onto his feet as Mr Weasley talked to the elderly wizard who was one of his colleagues to find out where their campsite was.

The group set off towards their designated campsite through the misty morning and to a tiny cottage where they were met by a muggle man by the name Mr Roberts. Mr Roberts proved to be quite a problem, he'd been noticing the strange combinations of muggle clothing and the amount of bookings; luckily another Ministry worker got to him in time and modified his memory before he could get any more suspicious. Pitching the tent didn't take too long since the Marauders had always been interested in muggle objects and had been camping quite often in the summer when they were at Potter Manor and with Harry and Hermione's help they managed to get both tents up in no time. Harry wondered how in the world they'd all fit in the tiny, shabby tents. Remus saw his quizzical expression, he smiled to himself and walked up to Harry.  
"Go take a look inside Harry; that might answer your question." He informed. Harry stepped inside and his eyes widened, the miniscule tent was the size of a small apartment on the inside, with kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and living area. Harry looked around in awe, knowing no matter how long he was in the magical world, there will always be things that could surprise him.

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**As I said, probably not my best chapter but tell me what you thought and hopefully the next chapter won't take me as long XD Also, in case you guys didn't know, I've wrote a one-shot for Father's Day so if you want to check that out I would appreciate it. **


	14. Chapter 14:Trouble at the World Cup

**AN: Hi guys! To answer some of your questions, only Lily and Harry are going to Hogwarts, I just had James phrase the sentence how he did because honestly I hadn't decided if he was coming or not but I've made a decision and he's not. Also, Harry's animagus training is going to be addressed in the next chapter where he'll find out what his form is, don't worry I didn't forget. I just wanted to say that I've tried not to copy straight out of the book since I still want it to be my own work, but have still tried to keep it as canon as possible, but there may be a few direct phrases in there that are straight from the book, I'm not sure. **

**Here's chapter 14!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**Chapter 14 – Trouble at The Quidditch World Cup**

While everyone was waiting for the match to start that night, a lot of wizards and witches had come to see if they could catch a glimpse of James Charlus Potter, the man who was so well known for sacrificing his life for his son and had mysteriously come back to life. One person who wouldn't leave them alone was Rita Skeeter, writer for the Daily Prophet.  
"Mr Potter, or can I can you James? How has it been having another chance at life and being with your family?" Rita questioned in her cocky voice, with her quick quotes quill writing as fast as Harry's firebolt. It was probably writing a bunch of lies with a wisp of truth in there, obviously not James' words since he wasn't saying anything, just glaring at the hateful, imposing woman before him. She smiled a sickly sweet smile. James was just about ready to curse the reporter when Ludo Bagman, dressed in his old, poorly fitted Quidditch robes, came in to save the day.  
"Oh Rita, the Bulgarian Minister has arrived if you want to go and interview him although you may have to improvise Minister Fudge is having a few communication issues." He informed her merrily, not sensing the hostility from James. Rita's eyes lit up and decided that the Bulgarian Minister would make a better story depending on the outcome of the upcoming match and raced off in search for the man. James sighed in relief, hoping that would be the last he'd see of the reporter although he highly doubted it.

"Ahoy there. James Potter I presume, I'm Ludo Bagman, ex beater of the Wimbourne Wasps and head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." Ludo introduced himself, sticking out a fairly large hand for James to shake. James returned the smile and shook his hand. Mr Weasley climbed out of his tent closely followed by Percy who had just arrived ten minutes before with Bill and Charlie. "Ah Arthur, great day isn't it? Everything's going so well, I honestly don't think this could've gone any better." James had several examples of how he could argue that point but kept quiet. Percy ran forward and eagerly stuck out his hand towards Ludo.  
"Percy Weasley, pleased to meet you." Percy said as pompously as ever. The rest of the group came out of the tent, interested to see the new visitor.  
"Yes, this is my son Percy and these are my other children, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny and these are Ron's friends Hermione Granger and Harry Potter and this is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin." Mr Weasley introduced everyone in turn and Ludo's eyes widened at hearing Harry and Sirius' names. "This is Ludo Bagman, the reason we have such great seats for the match!" Bagman smiled and waved his hand dismissively as if to say it was no bother at all.  
"Anyone want to bet on the match tonight?" Ludo asked grinning, Fred and George immediately stepped forward and said simultaneously  
"We bet 37 galleons, 15 sickles and 3 knuts that Ireland will win but Krum will catch the snitch!" Mr Weasley looked as if he was about to protest but it was too late since the boys had already gave the coins the Bagman.  
"Have you heard anything from Bertha Jorkins? She was in your department after all." James asked, wanting any scrap of information to grasp onto. Ludo didn't seem very phased and just gave a laugh and said  
"No but she'll turn up, she's probably gotten lost, she's quite the forgetful one you know. If she's seen anything of Pettigrew she would have contacted us I'm sure." James looked beyond defeated but nodded anyway.

A wizard dressed in a crisp suit and tie and very polished shoes apparated right next to the group and Percy gasped loudly  
"Mr Crouch! Mr Crouch would you like a nice cup of tea?" Percy spluttered as he turned back toward the tent, looking extremely flustered.  
"Oh yes, that would be nice Weatherby." Barty replied dismissively. All the kids tried to suppress a snicker at Mr Crouch getting Percy's name wrong.  
"Ah Mr Potter, I've been wanting a word with you, we're still searching for Pettigrew, we've searched a lot of the surrounding areas of the coast where he was seen travelling to but there has been no sign up to yet." Barty announced; James, Sirius and Remus thanked him for the news although it wasn't the news they wanted to hear. Percy came back with a cup of tea for his boss with shaking hands.  
"Thank you for the tea Weatherby." Barty said as there was another poorly concealed snicker from the group beside him.  
"So Barty, are you ready for more organising after all this is over?" Ludo asked Mr Crouch. Barty looked horrified at the mention of this so called organising and replied.  
"We can't disclose the information yet Ludo, not everything has been verified."  
"Oh the kids will know soon enough, they'll be witnessing it after all, it'll be up at Hogwarts. The others have signed, we're all good to go." Ludo answered heartily, seemingly without a care in the world. Crouch's face was scrunched up and was beet red.  
"We need to talk to the Bulgarians Ludo." He huffed out through gritted teeth, he passed his untouched tea back to Percy and stalked off, quickly followed by Ludo.

Once they were out of earshot Fred and George started asking Mr Weasley about the event that is taking place at Hogwarts with no such luck. Harry turned to his father and grinned mischievously.  
"I'm not saying anything either Prongslet, so don't even try." James said laughing at his son's almost identical grin to the one he wore for most of his childhood.  
"We're going to find out soon anyway can't you just tell us now?" Harry asked.  
"You're going to find out soon so you can wait just a little while longer." James retorted.  
"Can't blame me for trying, it must be my inner marauder trying to break free." Harry commented jokingly, James, Sirius and Remus laughed.  
"Best not tell that to Mcgonagall, you might just give her a heart attack." Sirius said barking out a laugh.

**-Scene break-**

Harry thought the match was incredible, it was the best thing he had witnessed in his entire life. From the performances of the Veela and the Leprechauns to Viktor Krum's unbelievable catch of the golden snitch and his use of the Wronski feint that Harry couldn't wait to try out on his firebolt on his Quidditch pitch when he got home. As they were walking back to their tent, Fred and George were discussing their big plans in quiet whispers about what they were going to do with their winnings, even though they didn't need to whisper, the roar of the crowd was so loud they probably wouldn't even be heard if they were shouting to each other. Percy was wondering aloud why Mr Crouch never came to the match, after all his house elf Winky, who they had met up in the top box was saving him a seat. Hermione was complaining how Mr Crouch was mistreating Winky because she was sitting so high up when she was seriously afraid of heights. The atmosphere around them was intoxicating, the Irish were roaring victory celebrations into the night and all Harry could see was green splattered everywhere. He was sure his friend Seamus and his mother would be in the midst of the celebrations somewhere.

Once they finally made it back to their tent after struggling to get through the mass crowds of celebrating wizards and witches, everyone was still too full of adrenaline from the match to go to sleep and instead stayed up and talked about the highlights of the match. Harry and Sirius was in a debate about the fairness of one of the penalties received when Ginny fell asleep at the table and managed to knock everyone's drinks on to the floor. It was then decided it would be best if everyone went to bed. James, Remus and Sirius all ruffled Harry's hair and said goodnight before they all got into their bunks and Harry daydreamed until he fell asleep about someday playing at the Quidditch World Cup and the hundred thousand people chanting his name into the night sky as he caught the snitch.

He suddenly felt someone shaking him, he grabbed his glasses and saw it was Remus  
"Come on you two, wake up, this is serious. No time to get dressed just grab a jacket and get outside." He urged, deep frown lines appearing on his forehead with worry. Harry jumped down from the top bunk, now feeling fully alert, grabbed a jacket and ran out of the tent with Ron right behind him. He was shocked by the sight that hit him, gone were the cheers of celebration, they were replaced with screaming and people running for their lives. In the distance he could hear the jeering of a tightly knitted group, all wearing masks and hoods, marching towards them with something floating over their heads. As the marching group got closer Harry realised it wasn't a something above their heads it was a someone, Mr Roberts and his family, being contorted like a child would with their toys sixty feet in the air. Harry couldn't believe his eyes and Ron summed up his feelings in three words.  
"This is sick." Harry nodded in agreement as Ginny and Hermione ran out of their tent and Fred and George emerged out of the opposite one that Harry and Ron had just come out of. Bill, Charlie and Percy came bursting out next, fully dressed and wands out, ready for action. Harry noticed his dad, Sirius and Arthur in the distance, also with their wands out. Remus came rushing out of the tent.  
"We're all going to help the Ministry sort this out, you lot go and hide in the woods and for Merlin's sake make sure you stay together, we'll come and find you when it's over." Remus stated and raced after his friends who were struggling to get to the hooded people in the centre of the expanding crowd.

Fred grabbed Ginny's hand and raced off in the direction of the woods and the rest followed. As Harry ran he could help but worry about his dad, he know he could look after himself but he just got him back and knew he couldn't live with himself if he lost him again so soon. Amongst all the crowds of screaming witches and wizards Harry, Ron and Hermione lost Fred, George and Ginny. The only source of light throughout the forest was the blazing fire from tents set ablaze. Ron cried out and Harry turned back, Hermione lit her wand  
"Lumos!" she said irritably and illuminated the ground to see Ron sprawled on the floor, he jumped up.  
"Tripped over a tree root." He muttered. The three whirled around when the sound of a familiar snicker of Draco Malfoy.  
"Better run a bit faster Granger, those people know a mudblood when they see one." Malfoy drawled, his voice dripping with malice, calmly leaning against a tree whilst watching the incident at the campsite take place. Harry and Ron clenched their fists and Ron shouted  
"Shut your mouth Malfoy." Ron snarled.  
"Where's your fathers anyway? Gone to try and save the muggles, better watch out Potter your father's already died once, pity if it happened again, you wouldn't have anyone to turn and cry to about muggles trying to hurt you." Draco drawled once more in a mocking tone, relishing the fact he had facts of times when Harry had been vulnerable. Harry advanced on Malfoy with his teeth and fists clenched but Ron and Hermione grabbed him and held him back.  
"Where's your father Malfoy, out terrorising the muggles?" Harry spat back venomously. Draco sneered and replied  
"Even if he was I wouldn't tell you now, would I Potter?" Hermione pushed Harry on, urging them to leave and find the others. Harry reluctantly turned his back and they left, his hand went into his pocket, seeking his wand only to find it empty, he sighed in frustration.  
"I can't find my wand." Harry told Ron and Hermione. They raised their further in the air to light up more ground but it was nowhere in sight. Ron and Hermione reassured him, saying it was probably in the tent or on the floor in the campsite somewhere and they would find it when the riot had finished.

They followed the dark path a little further and found a spot to wait for the end of the riot after bumping into Winky who was struggling against some kind of invisible force  
"Winky is running away Harry Potter sir, there is bad wizards about!" They had just got comfortable when they heard a rustle and Ludo Bagman stumbled through the bushes, looking very worried.  
"What are you doing here?" He asked distractedly, his eyes darting around as if he were looking for someone.  
"Haven't you seen the riot going on at the camp site?" Ron asked incredulously. Ludo swore under his breath and disapparated immediately. They sat and waited for the riot to end when they heard yet another rustle, Harry called out to them, but there was only silence. Then a burst of green light shot up to the sky as a cold voice screamed  
"MOSMODRE!"

Meanwhile James, Sirius, Remus and Arthur were chasing after the hooded figures when they suddenly stopped with terrified looks on their faces and disapparated. The group turned around and were horrified to see the terrible sight that hadn't been seen in thirteen years. The Dark Mark illuminated the sky as violent screams were heard from the woods and only one thought could enter James' mind '_**Harry.**_' They all apparated instantly. Once they landed they saw Harry, Ron and Hermione huddled together as the wizards around them fired spells at them.  
"STOP – that's my son." Arthur yelled as they all ran over to help Harry, Ron and Hermione up to their feet. James ran over to Harry to hug him as he thanked Merlin that he was safe, he knew what that mark meant and Harry was the first person a Death Eater would go after.

**-Scene Break-**

When they got back to the tent, which was thankfully not one of the ones that was set on fire, they explained the situation to Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ginny. They explained how Winky was the one that was found with Harry's wand and Mr Crouch had gave her clothes. Everyone was shocked. Arthur, James, Sirius and Remus explained about the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark and the dark times they were involved in. As they all went to bed to try and get a few hours sleep, Harry remembered the nightmare he'd had the day before, were these things connected? He wondered whether he should tell his parents about the dream and the pain in his scar. Was it worth making them worry? Harry felt a foreboding atmosphere in the air as he drifted off to sleep.

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**Thank you so much for the support over the last few months, it's been unreal. I was so scared of posting my work online and being told it was no good but the reaction has been very positive and it's made me so happy and much more confident in myself so thank you for that. **

**What did you think to the chapter?**


	15. Chapter 15: I think we're going back

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took so long; this past month I've had one crisis after another and it was all very overwhelming, but I'm back now and just got the chapter finished to honour Harry and Jo's birthday! Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I think we all know by now that I don't own Harry Potter XD**

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**Chapter 15 – I think we're going back…**

Harry found it was very strange to think he was going back to Hogwarts today. He'd treasured the last week with his family; the last week he'd have with them before him and his mum would be going back to the castle. He didn't know when he'd see his dad, Sirius and Remus again all together so, he decided he'd enjoy it while he had the chance.

A couple of days ago, they had gone shopping for Harry's school supplies. His mum was especially excited when they went into Madam Malkin's to get some dress robes although, Harry had no idea why he needed them; they said they were required on his Hogwarts letter but he's never needed them before. Why now? In the end, they ended up getting bottle green robes that looked almost identical to his school ones. Lily stood up from her seat and smiled sadly at Harry.  
"I'm glad we could do this sweetie." Lily told him, her eyes glistening. "I wasn't here when you first got your school robes or when you got your first wand. But I'm here now." Harry looked at her curiously.  
"What are these robes for Mum?" he asked.  
"You'll find out soon enough." She replied with a cheeky grin.

They went to Flourish and Blotts to get his new books that he needed and to Eeylopes Owl Emporium for some treats for Hedwig. They were just about to go to the Leaky Cauldron to get some lunch when they bumped into the Malfoys. Lucius' eyes lit up and a sneer appeared onto his face.  
"Ah, the Potters, enjoy the World Cup?" Lucius asked pompously. James and Harry had identical glares on their faces. James then put on a fake smile and replied  
"Very much Malfoy although, it did get quite a bit messy towards the end with the attack on the muggles. Do you have any idea about who would have caused that?" Lily gave James a pointed look as if to tell him to back down. Lucius' sneer turned into a grin.  
"Well I don't think that is any of your business, is it Potter? You don't work for the Ministry anymore after all." Lucius retorted and then heaved a great, dramatic sigh.  
"However, I think your son should keep an eye out for any danger, especially with the Dark Lord's mark showing up after." Lucius finished, his superior sneer returning. Lily automatically grabbed Harry's hand as the Malfoys made their way to the opposite end of the street. James' eyes followed them as his blood silently boiled inside.

Harry packed his bottle green dress robes with the rest of his newly washed school robes and brand new school books. He also thought back to the vision he had the other night when he had drank the potion to find out his animagus form. As soon as Harry drank the potion he had blacked out instantly. When his eyes opened he could tell they weren't his own, he wasn't wearing glasses for a start. His sight was intense, all the colours of his general environment were sharper. He observed his vast surroundings, he seemed to be in a forest clearing. He could see the tops of the highest mountains that were miles away and he could sense the family of rabbits that were hiding out in a burrow just half a mile from where he was standing. He looked down and saw giant, magnificent talons. His ears pricked up as he heard the sound of running water, he galloped over in that direction and found a narrow stream. He stared at his reflection and started at what he saw. He had the head of an eagle but the body of a lion.

_He was a griffin._

Harry didn't even know that wizards could have a magical creature for an animagus. He turned back to his reflection and inwardly grinned at the sight of his giant, impressive wings as he spread them to see them in their entirety and decided to give them a try. He galloped into the middle of a clearing and once again spread his wings. Harry took a deep breath, counted to three and took off. Bliss. It was the only way to describe it. Harry never thought he'd find a better way to fly than using a broom but this definitely came close. As he soared through the clouds and felt the wind beneath his massive wings, he could sense every single animal in the forest and on the mountain. Among the many animals was a particularly delicious looking fox. He decided to strike. He dived down and landed gracefully on the forest ground without so much as a thump. The fox didn't notice, it was having a drink from the stream, not sensing the danger it was in. He struck.

Harry couldn't wait to start the transformation stage of his training. His dad said he was going to help him on weekends when he came to spend time with him and Lily. James had asked Professor Mcgonagall if they could use the transfiguration classroom to practice which she agreed to although, James hadn't told her what they were up to, no matter how much she persisted with her asking. He packed his animagus training book in the bottom of his trunk so nobody would see it and find out what they were up to. Whether Voldemort came back or not, Harry didn't fancy Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins finding out about his animagus form. He hadn't even told Ron and Hermione about it yet. He was going to wait until he finished the transformation and then show them. He didn't really know why he wanted to wait, it wasn't like he didn't trust them; but he thought it was best. He took one last look at his room and smiled to himself before he picked up his trunk and lugged it down the long staircase.

They arrived at platform nine and three quarters at 10:45am so they had fifteen minutes to spare. Harry hugged his mum and dad and said goodbye even though he'd be seeing his mum at the feast and his dad at the weekend. James helped his son get his trunk and Hedwig's cage on the train as the hundreds of students getting on the Hogwarts Express unashamedly gawked at them. Ten minutes later, the Weasleys and Hermione came rushing through the wall on to the platform in a hurry, looking extremely flustered, not wanting to miss the train. One by one they jumped on once they had said their goodbyes to Mrs Weasley, Lily and James.

A whistle blew as the train signalled it was leaving the crowded station. The last few students sprinted onto the scarlet steam train just as it started to move. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stayed at the door and waved to the adults until they were so far away they could no longer see them. Once the platform was out of sight, the group proceeded to find a compartment on the heavily crowded train. Harry, Ron and Hermione said their goodbyes to Ginny as they found a compartment and she went to find her friends. They shut the compartment door and Harry caught sight of Cho Chang, a fifth year Ravenclaw who looked just perfect to him. He stared out of the compartment until he couldn't see her anymore even when he craned his neck.

Pigwidgeon started to chirp loudly, looking extremely excited. Ron groaned loudly in exasperation. He took out what looked like a maroon dress and threw it on top of the cage.  
"Ron, what the hell is that?" Harry asked, utterly perplexed as to why Ron had an item like that in his trunk. Hermione sighed heavily and rolled her eyes as she threw herself down in her seat.  
"Oh Harry why did you have to ask? Ronald please don't start again. It's all you've talked about on the way here." Hermione pleaded, but to no avail as Ron's face burned red with anger as he started his rant he'd apparently had more than once today.  
"It's my dress robes. Can you believe it Harry? People have actually got to see me in that." Ron raged pointing at the robes in question accusingly, glaring at them like his eyes could just set them alight right there and then.  
"Why do we even need them in the first place? I bet it's got something to do with whatever's going on up at Hogwarts this year, but what could it possibly be? What would we need dress robes for?" Ron thought out loud, once again pondering over the question all three of them had been wondering ever since they'd heard about the mystery event.

Harry suddenly realised something he didn't when he was on the platform.  
"Hey Ron, why didn't your dad come and see you off at the platform?" Harry asked.  
"He got a call from work. I think it was about Mad Eye Moody getting attacked by his bins or something." Ron answered. Harry was even more confused.  
"Who's Mad Eye Moody?" He questioned.  
"He was an auror, a dark wizard catcher. He was the best there was, but he got really paranoid and always thinks death eaters are going to come after him to get revenge after he retired. He often sets traps for them, so people think he's completely barmy. This isn't the first time Dad's had to deal with him." Ron explained. Harry had learnt about aurors over the summer since his dad told him all about the training he and Sirius had undergone with his grandfather to enter the profession. There was no doubt in Harry's mind this is what he wanted to do when he left Hogwarts. Harry asked James whether he and Sirius would ever return to the job but his dad said that they would never work for Fudge after the way he treated Sirius.

They discussed Mad Eye Moody's many 'attacks' from the Death Eaters until Neville, Dean and Seamus turned up to congratulate Harry on his parent's return from the dead. Hermione tuned out at this point to try and get a head start on the new year's spells since all the boys could talk about was the World Cup after a while. The boys could only talk about the match for so long before their conversation finally turned to the riot that happened after.  
"So why do you think the Death Eaters decided to attack at the World Cup after being disbanded for so long?" Neville asked in a slightly worried tone.  
"Do you think it could be a sign that something bad is going to happen?"  
"Neville I'm sure it was just some idiots who'd have too much to drink and decided it would be funny to pull a joke on the muggles." Hermione said, trying to reassure Neville. A derisive snigger came from the compartment door.  
"Oh Granger, I'm surprised you came out of that attack unscathed. A little mudblood like you would've been first on their list." Malfoy jeered with Crabbe and Goyle cackling behind him.  
"This is a private conversation Malfoy so if you don't mind, leave." Hermione stated in an irritated voice, giving pointed looks to her friends to leave Malfoy to her and not to react to the insult.  
"Or what Granger?" Malfoy smirked, Crabbe and Goyle laughing even louder.  
"Or maybe I'll punch you again. You remember last time don't you?" Hermione retorted, having a smirk of her own at the look on Malfoys face as his mocking smile faded instantly. Neville, Dean and Seamus' faces all lit up and burst into fits of laughter as they thought about the image of Malfoy being punched; something all of them had wanted to see since the day they lay eyes on him.  
"Watch your back Granger. I'll get you back one day, when you least expect it. I'll get chosen this year, I don't know how but I will. That's when I'll get my chance." Malfoy hissed as he stormed from the compartment with a glaring Crabbe and Goyle in tow. Hermione rolled her eyes and buried her head back in her book.

"What did he mean by get chosen? Do you think it has something to do with the event at Hogwarts? Is it some kind of competition? Is that why we've got formal robes, because we have to take part in some kind of formal duel or something?" Ron speculated.  
"Well we're not going to get very far in those formal robes if that's what we've got to wear in a duel." Harry added, not convinced. Hermione seemed to agree.  
"It's definitely not a duel but, it does seem that Malfoy knows what the event is." Hermione declared.  
"What event?" Neville, Dean and Seamus asked simultaneously. However, the trio were too deep in thought to hear them.  
"What could it possibly be?" Harry asked himself.

**(scene break)**

"The Triwizard Tournament? Mum why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked playfully, later that evening. He was helping his mum unpack her things in her quarters. She had flooed to the castle just before the feast and hadn't had the chance to get settled yet. Lily's quarters consisted of her own living area with a grand fireplace that acted as her floo network. Next to the fire place was a scarlet sofa and living chair with mahogany coffee table. On the other side of the room was a book shelf where she had already started to put many books about healing and defensive magic and some muggle books she liked to read for fun. Beside that was a desk where she had placed pictures of James and Harry, their faces beaming up at the camera joyfully. In the next room was her bedroom with a red and gold queen sized four poster bed and an en-suite bathroom off to the side.  
"We wanted it to be a surprise. That's why I've been hired, since there would be more chance of injuries so Madam Pomfrey may need a hand." Lily replied while sorting through her robes and Harry flicked through her many healing related books she had brought with her.

"What do the champions have to do to win anyway?" Harry asked again, beyond curious. He and Ron had already discussed what it would be like if they could get across the age barrier and enter. As much as Harry said he didn't want the fame and glory, the look on Cho's adoring face would make it all worth it for him. Harry couldn't help but smile.  
"It's different every time." Lily stated simply. She then turned to her son with a stern expression. "Don't even think about trying to enter Harry James Potter. I know that look, you've got the same look your father did when he was just about to get himself into trouble. I swear, you two are too alike for your own good." Harry's smile widened.  
"Yeah, but that's why you love us." Harry said sweetly. Lily grinned and shook her head as she finished putting her clothes away.  
"Don't you think it was time you got off to bed? You have lessons in the morning. Your father was infamous for detentions and I don't want you to be the same." Lily suggested. Harry chuckled and nodded. He said goodnight to his mother and wandered back to the common room wondering what kind of events the Triwizard Tournament would bring.

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**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I just wanted to say a big thank you to Kellise, my new beta reader who has helped me a lot in getting this chapter out in the open, I wouldn't have finished it today if it wasn't for him. He also writes fanfics of his own so makes sure to go check him out! **


	16. Chapter 16: Symbols

**Hey guys, first I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Emily Newell who has inspired me so much and actually gave me the courage to start writing this fanfic in the first place. She is an amazing friend who has done so much for me, she believed in me before I even believed in myself and I wanted to give her the recognition she deserves. Secondly, I've hit 250 followers! How insane is that? Thank you all so much for your support as this fic continues to grow. **

**Here's chapter 16! **

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

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**Chapter 16: Symbols**

The first week back for Harry was extremely eventful to say the least. It all started when Hermione had gone from refusing to eat a thing because the house elves were making it to scoffing down her food as fast as possible to get to the library. Hagrid had then shown them his Blast Ended Skrewts that would surely have attacked them all when Hagrid finally found out their food source. After that Mr Weasley's run in with Moody's vengeful dust bins had been in the paper thanks to Rita Skeeter and, an argument with Malfoy had turned into the first and hopefully not the final performance of the amazing, bouncing ferret. However, the lesson that had the most impact on him was Professor Moody's lesson about Unforgivable Curses.

When Harry had seen that spider just fall motionless on the floor he wondered if that's how his parents died and if that would ever happen to them again; he had a strong urge to talk to his mother immediately. He was also worried about Neville, after the lesson had finished Neville was still in a sort of trance and his eyes were constantly wide. He felt bad for letting Moody take him away but Harry couldn't have thought of an excuse good enough for Neville not to go. He, Ron and Hermione made their way down to the hospital wing to see Lily who wanted to know all about their first week back at school. When they got there Lily was comforting a first year Ravenclaw who had broken her ankle in her first flying lesson. She finished tending to the girl and came over to them with a bright smile on her face and hugged Harry tight.  
"So, how's school life?" she asked eagerly, wanting to know every detail.  
"Quite eventful." Harry replied and then went on to tell her the list of events that had happened throughout the week, Ron and Hermione jumping in now and then to add in their parts, especially when it came to Draco's ferret adventure. They all paused when they got to the previous lesson, the image of the lifeless spider came back to Harry and a distant look came across his face.  
"What happened?" Lily urged, not liking the look on her son's face.  
"We just had a lesson with Professor Moody and, well…" Ron started but Hermione interrupted, unable to take the injustice any longer while Harry still stared off into space.  
"He showed us the unforgivable curses! They were awful. Neville was acting all strange after he saw the Cruciatus Curse and I don't think Harry took it well when he saw the killing curse." She spluttered, her eyes full of worry for the two boys.

Lily's face turned towards Harry and her heart broke at his blank expression. She motioned for Ron and Hermione to give them some privacy and usher Harry onto one of the spare beds. She bent down to his level and spoke softly.  
"Hey sweetheart, can you hear me? Come back to me love, we can talk about what you saw." Harry blinked and snapped out of whatever trance he was in and was bewildered to find that he had moved and Ron and Hermione had left the room. He looked down embarrassedly. He couldn't believe he let something as simple as this get to him.  
"Honey, what happened?" Lily asked patiently, taking her son's hand in hers.  
"It's nothing, really Mum it's fine." Harry said dismissively, not wanting to worry his mother any more than he had to.  
"Harry James Potter, how many times do I have to tell you? You can talk to me about anything. Now what's going on in that brain of yours?" She asked.  
"When Voldemort came for you and Dad, was it like that? Was it just a green light then nothing? Did it hurt?" Once Harry started he couldn't stop himself, the questions came flowing out of him like a waterfall. Lily looked towards the tiled floor. Flashbacks of that fateful day came back to her. The feeling of terror and helplessness. She turned back to Harry with a determined look on her face.  
"It didn't hurt at all. I didn't feel any pain, only the pain of leaving you behind. However, I don't want you worrying about this. Your father and I are back now and we're not going anywhere. You are going to go to school, do your homework and have fun watching whoever gets chosen for the Triwizard Tournament okay?" Lily assured. Harry nodded with a smile, feeling slightly better. He wondered whether he should tell his mum about the dream he had over the summer but decided against it. If it happened again and his scar hurt then he would mention it. "Now I need to go and talk to Neville. Do you know where he'll be?"  
"Professor Moody asked him for tea. Do you know why he reacted like he did Mum? Will he be okay?" Harry asked, worried about his friend.  
"I do, but that's for him to tell you sweetie. Did I ever tell you I was his godmother? His mother and I were best friends at Hogwarts." Lily responded, with a sad smile on her face. She said her goodbyes to her son and set off for Alastor Moody's office at a brisk pace, trying to keep her anger at the man in check.

When she reached the office door she poised her hand to knock but didn't need to as the door opened just as she was about to do so. Neville appeared with red eyes but looking slightly happier and a book in his hand. Neville said his goodbyes to Professor Moody as the door shut behind him. Lily smiled at Neville.  
"Hi Mrs Potter." Neville greeted shyly.  
"Call me Lily, Neville. Are you okay? How about you come with me? We can talk." Lily asked, her eyes full of concern for her godson.  
"O-okay." Neville answered timidly, not as scared as he was to have the meeting with Moody. Lily led him to and unused classroom and motioned for him to have a seat. She smiled sadly at him, thinking back to the time when she and Alice was both pregnant and making all these plans for their sons' futures and how they had gone so wrong.

"Harry told me what happened in your Defence Against the Dark Arts class today Neville and I'm so sorry you had to witness that. Professor Moody had no right to show you these spells without consent. I don't know if you know Neville but, your mother and I were best friends when we came here, she made me your godmother. I'm so sorry for what happened to her and your dad and if I could change what happened I would in a heartbeat. If you ever need someone to talk to then I'm always here for you sweetie. I promise." Lily confessed. She looked straight into Neville's eyes that were filled with so much sorrow after so many years of loneliness and rejection. Lily decided there and now she was going to make it right or die trying.  
"You really knew my mum?" Neville asked in amazement. "What was she like?"  
"She was the kindest, most courageous woman I have ever met. If anyone ever needed help she would be the first to volunteer, she could stand up for herself and others if there were ever any bullies around. She loved your dad very much, ever since she first laid eyes on him, she knew he was the one for her. They met and were friends for a while but it was obvious to everyone around them that they were hopelessly in love with each other. In our seventh year on the last day of term Frank proposed and it was the sweetest sight I had ever witnessed. I was so happy for them both." Lily reminisced, so happy she could at least share her memories with their child who doesn't have any of his own.

Neville smiled happily while trying to keep the tears from falling again, they weren't sad tears though, they were happy, happy that his parents were wonderful people and his memory of them will keep them alive. He was happy for a moment, just one shining moment, then he remembered what he saw today.  
"I just keep thinking back to that spider that Professor Moody tortured. Was that how they suffered that night? When could they last think for themselves? I'm proud to be their son. I'm proud that they didn't give in or else You Know Who would have got the information he needed. I just wish the Death Eater would've left a piece of their minds left. I would give anything for them to look at me and see me, actually see me." Neville looked towards the ground with gritted teeth.  
"My gran and I visit them every year at Christmas. They look at me but their eyes are empty, their just empty shells. Except at the end. At the end of each visit, my mum gives me one of these." Neville took out a sweet wrapper from his robes pocket. "I don't know what they all mean. My gran tells me to throw them away but, they mean a lot to me." Neville whispered.  
"It's a symbol Neville. A symbol saying she loves you, she can't do that any other way anymore so she settled with that. They're not just empty shells. They're in there somewhere, fighting to get back to you. Alice would never leave you intentionally Neville, she told me herself. I think you know that don't you?" Lily stressed, wanting to make her point very clear to the boy. He was not alone. Neville nodded and he let the tears fall free down his face for the second time that day. Lily hugged her godson close, wishing she could take away the boy's hurting. "How about this Neville? Next time you go and see your parents I come and tag along. We can see them together. It will be okay Neville, you never have to feel alone again." Lily assured him once again.  
"That would be great. Thanks Lily." Neville said sincerely.

He stood up and grabbed his book and his bag. Lily stood up after and the two hugged.  
"Thank you Lily, for everything." Neville thanked, so glad he had a new person in his life he could come to.  
"Anytime, I mean it. If you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here for you." Lily replied. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Neville went to bed that night dreaming of his parents and their smiling faces.

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**What did you guys think? **

**I love you all,**

**Roanne **

**xxx**


	17. Chapter 17: Shock, Despair and Arrivals

**Here's Chapter 17!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does.**

**Chapter 17: Shock, Despair and Arrivals**

The castle was abuzz with gossip about the arriving schools on Friday 30th October for the Triwizard Tournament. Harry, Ron and Hermione had seen the notice the week before along with the rest of the school, and couldn't help but talk about how they'd be arriving. Apparition was off the cards as soon as Ron had suggested it. As Hermione had told them a hundred and one times, you can't apparate in and out of Hogwarts as reported in _'Hogwarts: A History'_ although, she had lost a lot of respect for the book as it had 'conveniently' left out the house-elves that maintain the school. The only other possibilities Harry could think of were the Hogwarts Express, portkeys and broomsticks. They wouldn't be using the floo network since they were waiting for the foreign schools out in the courtyard.

The students of Hogwarts hardly focused on their studies at all that day, they were all too excited for the event that would be taking place that evening. The final class that day for the fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins was Potions which had changed dramatically for Harry since he had started back that year. Instead of Snape singling Harry and his other fellow Gryffindors out, he chose to completely ignore them. Harry had no idea why this sudden turn of events had happened but he was extremely grateful for it and by the looks of it, so was Neville; his potions had improved a lot since he no longer had Snape standing over him, just waiting for him to make a mistake anymore. What surprised Harry even more was when Malfoy had slipped something into Harry's potion, Snape had actually snapped at Malfoy and had taken points, only two points but it was a major improvement to getting a zero for his ruined work. After their half an hour of potions, Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried back to Gryffindor Tower so they could dispose of their school bags as they were told and they met the rest of the school in the Entrance Hall. Professor McGonagall had all the Gryffindors line up from first years to seventh years. As Harry got in the fourth row, he spotted his mother talking to Madam Pomfrey about a third-year Hufflepuff who had tried to curse off a fairly large pimple after a fifth-year boy had teased her saying that the Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons would take one look at her and immediately leave in disgust, cancelling the tournament. Lily spotted him and smiled but chose not to wave so she didn't embarrass him. As soon as the whole school was out in the courtyard at 6:00, everyone looked around waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. No one knew where to look, they had no idea which direction their guests would be coming from. The whole school was amazed by what they witnessed next.

**(Scene Break)**

Lily was in awe of the goblet of fire as Professor Dumbledore removed it from the casket, the blue flames danced animatedly out of the stone cup. She was sat at the staff table with all the other Hogwarts staff, the other school heads, Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch, listening intently to Dumbledore's speech.  
"Any student wanting to partake in the Tournament must write their name and school onto a slip of parchment and put in into the goblet. Only students over the age of seventeen will be able to enter and any underage students shouldn't bother trying since I have drew an age line around the goblet myself. One final thing, this tournament shouldn't be entered lightly. The winner shall receive eternal glory but to do so the path ahead will be extremely dangerous and not for the fainthearted." Dumbledore explained to the crowd of eager, awestruck students. Lily had an awful feeling about the tournament that she couldn't shake, she wondered if that was why she had been feeling extremely sick over the last couple of weeks; James had assured her it was probably just nerves after starting a new job and they'd go away after she'd settled in but Lily knew that wasn't it. She also felt frequently exhausted and struggled to eat much at meal times. Her healer mind was telling her what it speculated it might be but she couldn't admit it, not to herself or anyone else. Lily was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't even realise that the feast had ended and everyone was getting up to leave.

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione got out of their seats.  
"Where's the Durmstrang students going to sleep? Viktor could sleep in our dormitory Harry, it wouldn't be that bad; he could have my bed." Ron wondered aloud, staring at the Quidditch player in admiration, hoping to somehow get an autograph.  
"Oh Ronald give it a rest. He's only a Quidditch player after all." Hermione said irritably. Harry and Ron gasped simultaneously, mortally wounded at such a comment. They were just about to argue back as they reached the doors of the great hall when they were met with Professor Karkaroff and Viktor Krum. Harry stopped to let them pass through the door first but the Professor just stopped and openly stared at Harry, specifically at his lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The professor was transfixed and Harry had no idea what to do, he was used to meeting new people who knew him as the boy who lived but never had they just stood silently, stock still and stared at him.  
"Harry Potter." The professor whispered in shock and Harry thought he heard a hint of fear.  
"Is there a problem here professor?" Lily asked sternly. She had pushed through the crowd of students waiting to get back to their common rooms. She came up behind Harry and was glaring at the Durmstrang headmaster, knowing of his Death Eater heritage and found it most unsettling having him so close to her son. Karkaroff shook his head silently.  
"Well I'm sure these students want to get some sleep before the announcement tomorrow so I suggest you step aside since you're blocking the doorway." She suggested. The professor came back to his senses and saw the great, long line of students complaining about not being able to get past.  
"O-of course." Karkaroff stuttered distractedly. He nodded in acknowledgement to Harry and pulled Viktor away, not looking back once.

Lily urged the trio forward to unblock the doorway.  
"What was his problem?" Ron asked. Lily pulled them into a dark corner out of earshot of the crowds.  
"Listen you three, please just stay away from Karkaroff." Lily ordered, leaving no room for argument.  
"Why Mum? What's he done? Why did he look so shocked and scared to see me? It shouldn't be news to people that I'm at Hogwarts right? Harry asked, his curiosity that usually doomed him was once again heightening.  
"Do you mean because Durmstrangs learn the Dark Arts?" Hermione asked. Ron and Harry looked shocked at the revelation and Lily looked relieved at the opportunity of a cover up.  
"Yes, that's exactly why Hermione. I don't trust him. No school should teach the Dark Arts and I hope he doesn't encourage his champion to use them in the tournament." Lily answered a little too quickly.  
"Are you okay Mum? You look a little pale?" Harry asked, his face concerned.  
"I'm fine sweetie. Now, why don't you three go back to the common room? It's getting late and Harry don't forget, your father's coming tomorrow morning." Lily advised. Harry didn't look convinced but said his goodbyes all the same and the three went back up to their dormitories.

Once they had gone through the Fat Lady's portrait, the trio went to sit by the fire in the comfy red armchairs. Hermione turned to Harry with her eyes full of concern.  
"Harry I think it's time you told your parents about your scar hurting. Your mum's obviously not worried about Karkaroff only because of the fact he teaches the Dark Arts to students, there's something more. Your dad's coming tomorrow so you can tell them then." Hermione pleaded as Harry rolled his eyes, this wasn't the first time Hermione had tried to convince him to tell his parents about his nightmare and his scar burning; she'd been trying ever since he and Ron had told her on the train.  
"Hermione, it was probably just a blip, it hasn't happened since and there's no reason to worry them. I'm not going to go running to them every time I have a bad dream that coincidentally was followed by a headache." Harry retorted, exasperated at his friend's nagging.  
"Keep telling yourself that Harry but it wasn't a coincidence and you know it." Hermione huffed, fiddling with her S.P.E.W badge that the boys still refused to wear, angrily. Harry looked at her dejected face and sighed heavily.  
"Fine. I'll tell them tomorrow." Harry sighed, giving in as he stared into the fire.  
"They need to know Harry." Hermione said before standing up and going to bed. Harry and Ron retired not that much later. As Harry got into bed, he wondered if he really had made the right decision.

It took a while for Lily to make the potion in her quarters that night. Her healer instincts were nagging at her and there was no harm in checking, she just hoped she was wrong. It had finally brewed at three o'clock that morning. She shakily poured the colourless potion into a phial, her heart rate doubling. She remembered the first time she took this potion, she and Alice had took it together and were delighted by the results and now she was here alone, dreading the same results. She took a deep breath before grabbing the other phial of her blood from her desk and added it to the potion. She knew drill: if it turned green it was positive, if it was negative, it would stay red. She held her breath. The potion turned green. She fell to the floor as the sobs wracked through her body.

_She was pregnant._

The next day, Harry, Ron and Hermione went down to breakfast early, only to find out they weren't the only ones. Most of the school were already awake and gathered around the goblet excitedly. They saw Ginny standing with a few of her friends, gossiping about who might have a chance of winning out of the students who had already put their names in.  
"Who's already entered?" Ron asked his sister eagerly.  
"All of Durmstrang but we haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet." Ginny answered.  
"Who do you think will enter from Gryffindor?" Ron wondered. Just as the words left his mouth Fred, George and Lee Jordan ran forwards, looking thrilled with themselves.  
"Just finished it this morning. We've been working on it all night." Fred whispered, just loud enough for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to hear.  
"Working on what?" Harry asked.  
"An aging potion." George whispered. "One drop each does the trick, we only have to be a few months older after all. Wish us luck."  
"You're going to need more than luck if you want to get past that age line, Dumbledore drew it himself." Hermione warned. The twins rolled their eyes and then grinned mischievously at each other.

Fred took out his piece of parchment and stepped towards the goblet and over the age line. Nothing happened at first and everyone got excited, including George who ran after his brother. However, in a flash, both boys were flung out of the circle surrounding the cup. The whole Entrance Hall burst into laughter as the twins looked up to see themselves with long silver beards that could even rival Dumbledore's. Lee was rolling on the floor laughing at the two. Harry heard a familiar laugh behind him and turned around to see his father. James ruffled Harry's hair affectionately and then helped the twins to their feet.  
"Co-come on you two, Lily will sort you out. You're the third case this morning but no one's beards are quite as grand as yours. The Marauders may have been amazing pranksters but Dumbledore is a true genius." James said, trying to no avail to stop laughing. He started to lead them to the hospital wing but then stopped when he got to Harry. "Your mum's going to just finish off attending to these two and then she'll be done. You three go on and have breakfast and we'll meet you in her quarters in about half an hour."  
"Okay see you later and please say you know how to teach me to do that." Harry answered wheezily after all the hysterical laughter. James winked and headed off to the hospital wing with Fred and George in tow and Lee Jordan following behind once he finally managed to pull himself off of the floor.

The trio sat down for breakfast and Hermione started up the argument again from the night before.  
"You are going to tell them aren't you Harry? You really need to. They deserve to know. Maybe if you tell them now and the dream is true they can put a stop to things right now." Hermione argued quietly as to not draw any attention to themselves.  
"Lay off him Hermione, he already agreed to tell them last night." Ron retorted, tired of hearing Hermione plead with Harry to do something that was ultimately his decision, even though he knew it was with the best of intentions.  
"Look Hermione, I know I need to tell them but, if it was just a one off then I'd be worrying them for no reason and what's the point in that. You saw my mum's face last night, she was so pale and that was just from seeing Karkaroff." Harry argued back just as quietly.  
"Harry, I know you're worried but I just feel like they need to know." Hermione replied, her eyes full of concern. Harry pushed his food away and got out of his seat.  
"I'll see you two later, what are you going to do today?" Harry asked.  
"We were going to go to Hagrid's. Hopefully most of those skrewts are dead and besides we haven't seen him yet." Ron explained.  
"Yeah and I need to ask him to join S.P.E.W. I can't believe your mum didn't join Harry I really thought she would." Hermione said sadly.  
"She's right though Hermione. It wouldn't be good for them. They like being told what to do." Ron argued exasperatedly.  
"Besides she didn't say she wouldn't join, she just said you're going about it the wrong way." Harry added just as he was walking away. Harry walked through the Hogwarts halls thinking about Hermione's argument, he really didn't want to bother his parents if he didn't have to. Once he reached his mother's quarters he raised his hand to knock but stopped when he heard raised voices. He put his ear against the door to listen.

Lily's world was falling apart around her.  
"I can't do this James. I can't have another baby during a war and have some monster looming over our heads threatening to come kill them. I just can't!" Lily cried, getting more and more hysterical.  
"Lily flower listen to me; everything's going to be okay. We'll protect our baby just like we protected Harry. Harry lived Lily; don't forget that." James comforted his sobbing wife. He didn't know what to think. He was over the moon at the prospect of having a bigger family but was his wife right? Was it cruel bringing another child into the world with the foreboding threat of war looming?  
"We left him James! We let him get abused for twelve years! He was alone for twelve years! I can't do that to another child, James. I won't." Lily declared, losing the last of her composure and falling to her knees. James held his wife while she sobbed despairingly into his shoulder, all the sorrow of leaving her child for so long pouring out of her and she thought it would never stop. The couple stayed there for many minutes, only the sound of Lily's cries and James' whispered words of comfort could be heard. "What if he comes back James? We could barely protect one child, how can we expect to protect two?" She whimpered. James looked her straight in the sorrowful eyes that were usually so full of hope and light but now just full of helplessness.  
"Lily Rose Potter, I promise on both our lives we will keep our children safe no matter what happens." James vowed. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and stroked her hair as she cried. Her sobs eventually stopped. James looked down and realised she had cried herself to sleep in his arms. He carried her to her bedroom and placed her gently on her bed and tucked her in. Her smiled sadly at her sleeping form and kissed her forehead once again and then left the room. He felt a slight draught from the open window so went over to close it. Just as he was about to he saw a small beetle on the windowsill. He flicked it onto the outside wall before shutting it. He heard a soft knock from the door.

_Harry._

**Sorry guys, this would have been up a couple of days ago but I think there's been problems with the site. I haven't been able to sign in for days. Anyway, I love to hear from you all so tell me what you think. **

**I love you all,**

**Roanne **

**xxx**


	18. AN: Going on Hiatus

**AN: Hey guys, sorry this isn't an update. I have some bad news. Unfortunately, about a third of my coursework that I've been working on to get my health and social care grade has completely disappeared so I have to redo the whole lot. This may take a few months so, I'm going to go on hiatus for a while and work as hard as I can to finish it so I can get back to writing this as soon as possible. I'm sorry there won't be an update for a while but if I can catch back up again I'll be able to hopefully update a lot more frequently. I'm hoping to be back around Christmas. **

**I love you all, **

**Roanne**

**xxx**


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